\o].  IV.,  So.  1,  p,,. 


'  Mvr-Ksni   -.n    ^  \smington  publication^ 
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KNGLISH 


AiiriUS,  191 


THE  PEARL:   AN   INTERPRETATION 


h-, 


ROBERT   MAX  GARRETT 


As'.iNrarr  Profcs-,. 


SEATTL*.  Washington 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNlVERSITV 


19IV 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WASHINGTON   PUBLICATIONS 
IN- 
ENGLISH 

.  .leincnts  of  the  History  of  the  English  Language. 
by  Uno  Lindelof ;  translated  by  Robert  Max  Gar- 
rett. University  of  Washington  Press.  1911.   $.75. 

!\)]iiical   aiKi  al    Allegory   of  the 

i'lrst  Book  of  the  i\'ierie  Queene.  Frederick  Mor- 
gan Padelford.     Ginn  and  Coni]iany.  191L     $,75. 

fiieval  I'ojmlar  Ballad,  by  J.  C.  H.  K. 
Steenstrup,  translated  by  Edw'ard  Godfrey  Cox. 
Ginn  and  Comnanv.  1911.     .'1^1.7.5, 


THE  PEARL 

AN    INTERPRETATION 


BY 

ROBERT  MAX  GARRETT.  Ph.D.  (Munich) 

Assistant  Professor  of  Enelisb 

University  of  Washington 

Seattle 


Quis  fldelium  habere  dubium  possit.  in  Illo 
Jesu  Christl  mysterio  angelorum  chorus  adesse, 
summa  imls  sociari,  teriani  coelestibus  jungi. 
Alcuin.     p.l4. 


TO 
PROFESSOR  FREDERICK  MORGAN  PADELFORD 

THIS   I.ITTLE    BOOK    IS   AKHF.CTIONATELY   INSCRIBED 


xeMAMCsr 


CONTENTS 

Pages 

Introduction          " 9-10 

EucHARisTic  Doctrine  in  the  Fourteenth  Century 10-13 

The   Communion   of   Saints 14-15 

The  Adoration  of  the  Lamb 15-16 

The  Pearl  of  the  New  Testament 16-17 

The  Pearl  as  Symbolic  of  the  Eucharist 

The  Host  as  Pearl — Candida.  . .  .  Rotunda  sit  Hostia  Christi      .             .  17-19 

The  Eucharist  a  Pearl 19-21 

Christ  as  the  Pearl  of  Qreat  Price 21-23 

The  Smaller  Pearls  in  Their  Relation  to  the  Great  Pearl      .  23-25 

The  Poem  of  the  Pearl 25-35 

Conclusion 35-37 

APPENDIX  A.     Note  on  the  "Hyj  Seysoun" 38-39 

APPENDIX  B.     St.  Hilary  of  Poictiers,  His  Daughter  and  the  Pearl  39-42 

Bibliography          43-45 


The  Pearl :    An  Interpretation 
Introduction 

When  we  study  the  poetry  of  the  Middle  Ages,  especially  the  "religious  verse, 
without  taking  into  account  the  vital  teachings  of  the  Eucharist.,  we  are  doing  violence 
to  the  age  —  we  are  taking  both  color  and  fragrance  from  the  flower.  Men  based 
their  hopes  of  heaven  upon  the  Eucharist;  they  found  therein  the  full  and  perfect 
revelation  of  Deity;  they  looked  to  it  as  the  key  of  heaven;  they  found  therein 
union  with  their  own  loved  ones  who  were  dead;  they  experienced  therethrough  day 
by  day  a  personal  relationship  with  the  Incarnate  God ;  they  built  their  churches 
as  a  setting  for  the  great  drama  of  love  enacted  within;  they  developed  their  art 
to  do  honor  to  that  great  Mystery  which  was  the  sacred  heart  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
At  once  we  think  of  the  great  tributes  to  the  Eucharist:  the  sublime  Mass  of  Corpus 
Christi  prepared  by  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  with  its  marvelous  hymns;  the  Opus  Majus 
of  Roger  Bacon  which  is  brought  to  a  climax  by  an  argument  for  "the  sacrament 
of  the  altar"  as  containing  in  itself  the  highest  good — (1)  that  is,  the  union  of 
God  with  man;  the  Legend  of  the  Holy  Grail;  (2)  and  the  Ghent  Altar — the  adora- 
tion of  the  Lamb,  by  the  brothers  Van  Eyck. 

To  this  goodly  fellowship  I  am  convinced  that  we  should  add  the  fourteenth- 
century  poem  of  The  Pearl. 

The  student  of  the  symbolism  of  The  Pearl  has  two  scholars  above  others  to 
thank  for  collecting  materials  which  are  indispensable  to  the  task  of  interpretation. 
I  mean  Dr.  Charles  G.  Osgood  in  the  Introduction  and  Notes  to  his  edition  of 
The  Pearl,  and  Prof.  W.  H.  Schofield  in  his  paper  called  "Symbolism,  Allegory  and 
Autobiography  in  The  Pearl,"  in  the  Publications  of  the  Modern  Language  Associ- 
ation of  America,  1909.  To  this  mass  of  material  I  have  been  able  to  add  only  a 
little.  I  have  long  felt,  however,  that  the  poem  was  more  subtly  symbolic  than 
Prof.  Schofield  allows,  and  that  it  possesses  a  more  essential  simplicity  than  is 
ascribed  to  it  by  Dr.  Osgood.  I  think  Prof.  Schofield  well  expresses  the  attitude 
of  one  who  loves  this  poem  and  who  strives  to  hear  it  tell  its  own  secret,  when  he 
says:  "My  desire  has  not  been  to  read  new  possible  meanings  into  the  poem, 
in  sympathy  with  our  modern  individualism,  but  simply  to  bring  the  light  of 
mediaeval  conceptions  to  bear  upon  and  elucidate  the  thought    of    a    poem    which 

(1)  Schaff.  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  V,  698. 

(2)  "In  a  word,  it  is  a  parable  of  the  Mass.  It  Is  the  central  rite  of  the  Church,  the 
Holy  Communion,  interpreted  In  the  symbols  of  a  story.  Repentance,  absolution,  the  long 
strugrgle  of  self-mastery,  the  sustaining  grace  of  the  great  sacrament,  the  reward  of 
heavenly  vision,  are  expressed  in  terms  of  knighthood,  are  brought  home  in  the  romance  of 
a  quest.  What  the  'Pilgrim's  Progress'  centuries  afterward  did  for  Protestanism,  the 
'Holy  Grail'  did  for  medieval  Catholicism.  It  put  religion  into  a  story  of  aspiration,  struggle 
and  attainment.  As  all  romance  Is  ideal,  so  this  romance  is  most  Ideal  of  all;  and  as  the 
idealism  of  romance  is  its  most  vital  quality,  so  this  highest  ideal  of  romance  has  lived 
through  all  the  centuries  and  won  all  Christian  people."  Baldwin,  English  Medieval 
Literature,  p. 84. 

Page  Nine 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

is  distinctly  a  product  of  its  time.  ...  A  learned  man  of  the  fourteenth 
century  was  so  used  to  interpretations  of  the  pearl  that  the  word  could  hardly  be 
mentioned  without  a  great  many  rising  to  his  memory  instantly.  And  anyone  then 
who  wrote  or  read  a  poem  entitled  The  Pearl  would  expect  the  treatment  to  be 
allegorical.  He  would  not,  however,  expect  the  author  of  a  poem  to  include  a 
list  of  all  previous  or  possible  interpretations  of  the  word,  but  only  such  as  the  poet 
chose  to  emphasize  at  that  particular  time  for  a  particular  purpose.  Only  a  dull 
writer  would  need  or  desire  to  accompany  his  poem  with  a  'key'  to  its  meaning,"  p.689. 
ing,"  p.  639. 

It  was  this  desire  to  go  to  the  age  in  which  the  poem  was  conceived  for  a  key 
to  its  meaning  that  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  this  poem  has  as  its  central 
idea  the  fundamental  teachings  of  the  Eucharist. 

EucHARiSTic  Doctrine  in  the  Fourteenth  Century 

The  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  a  time  of  furious  controversy 
over  the  Eucharist.  The  great  exponent  of  the  radical  view  was  Wyclif,  who 
seems  to  have  been  vacillating  in  his  theories  of  the  Eucharist,  being  accused  by 
his  opponents  of  a  view  practically  Zwinglian  and  himself  announcing  a  view  of 
Consubstantiation  which  was  scarcely  less  heretical.  Nevertheless  the  seeds  of 
dissent  were  sown  by  him,  and  the  more  conservative  saw  in  the  fact  that  he  was 
stricken  by  paralysis  while  assisting  at  mass  in  his  own  parish  church  a  judgment 
of  God.  Against  Wyclif  were  ranged  the  friars  of  Oxford  whom  he  denounced 
as  heretics  as  far  as  the  Eucharist  was  concerned  —  apparently  an  argumentum 
ad  absurdum  intended  to  make  the  logic  of  the  friars  ludicrous.  Popular  sentiment 
then  as  now  was  overwhelmingly  on  the  side  of  the  insurgent,  and  the  friars  have 
received  scant  justice  for  their  really  excellent  championship  of  the  doctrine  of  Tran- 
substantiation,  which  was  vital  to  the  life  of  the  historic  Church.  Even  Shirley  (3) 
is  scornful  of  the  misquotations  of  the  Franciscan  Tyssyngton  while  he  passes  over 
similar  lapses  on  the  part  of  Wyclif  with  indulgence. 

According  to  a  view  now  current  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation  is  hejd 
to  have  been  a  crude,  barbarous  and  revolting  superstition  which  overthrew  the 
nature  of  a  sacrament  and  which  impeded  the  onward  march  of  the  spirit.  This 
view  arises  from  slight  and  partisan  reading  in  the  literature  of  the  subject.  That 
there  were  people  who  failed  to  grasp  the  deep  spirituality  of  the  doctrine  cannot 
be  denied;  also  it  cannot  be  denied  that  sometimes  attention  to  the  sacramentals 
superseded  or  obscured  the  constant  and  proper  use  of  the  sacraments.  However, 
it  is  not  with  the  abuses  of  the  doctrine  that  we  are  concerned,  but  rather  with  the 
spiritual  aspect  of  the  doctrine  itself. 

The  fundamental  fact  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  is  the 
unity  of  the  Body,  that  the  consecrated  Host  is  Christ's  own  Body,  not  in  the  sense 
of  confining  Him  to  the  tiny  plot  of  the  wafer,  but  of  uniting  the  particle  and  the 
one  who  receives  worthily  to  the  great  mystical  body  of  all  faithful  people,  and 

(3)    Fasciculi  Zizaniorum.      pp.133,  250,  491. 
Pag«  Tea 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

to  the  head  of  that  body,  Christ  Himself.     As  the  Augustinian  Friar  Thomas  Wyn- 
tirton,  an  opponent  of  Wyclif,  says: 

"It  is  observed  that  the  bread  which  we  break  is  the  medium  by  which  the 
Body  of  Christ  is  partaken  of  by  us,  or  that  we  partake  of  the  Body  of  Christ; 
because  by  receiving  the  sacrament  of  the  altar  which  is  broken  by  us  and  is  the 
spiritual  bread  of  the  soul,  we  receive  the  true  Body  of  Christ  which  was  assumed 
from  the  Virgin." 

denotatur  quod  panis  quem  frangimus  est  medium  quo  corpus 
Christi  participatur  a  nobis,  vel  nos  participamus  de  corpore  Christi:  quia  recipi- 
endo  sacramentum  altaris  quod  frangitur  a  nobis,  et  est  panis  animse  spiritualis, 
recipimus  verum  corpus  Christi,  quod  fuit  assumptum  de  Virgine,"  Fasciculi  Zizani- 
orum,  p.  203. 

Again,  quoting  St.  Augustine,  he  says :  "  'When  we  eat  Christ  we  do  not  make 
parts  of  Him;  in  fact  it  is  thus  in  the  Sacrament,  everyone  receives  his  part' — 
that  is,  of  the  sacrament;  hence  Christ  eaten  in  parts  should  be  understood  Christ 
eaten  in  parts  of  the  Sacrament;  because  by  receiving  each  a  part  of  the  Sacrament 
the  whole  of  Christ  is  received." 

"  'Quando  manducamus  Christum  partes  de  illo  non  facimus.  Et  quidem  in 
Sacramento  sic  fit:  unusquisque  accipit  partem  suam,'  scilicet  sacramenti.  Ergo 
illud,  per  partes  manducatur  Christus,  debet  intelligi,  per  partes  sacramenti  man- 
ducatur  Christus:  quia  recipiendo  quamcunque  partem  sacramenti,  recipitur  totus 
Christus,"  ibid.,  p.  201. 

Likewise  the  Franciscan  Friar  John  Tyssyngton,  another  notable  opponent  of 
Wyclif,  says:  "Moreover,  the  Body  aijid  Blood  of  Christ,  while  they  are  bread 
and  wine  according  to  the  species,  are  the  sacrament  of  the  Church,  or  of  ecclesi- 
astical unity;  and  thus  is  it  properly  a  Eucharist,  a  thanksgiving;  yet  they  are 
bread  and  wine  according  to  the  species  wheresoever  they  are.  And  yet  there  is 
only  one  bread  upon  all  altars;  for  just  as  if  the  Word  as  substance  were  to  be 
made  manifest  in  various  men,  it  would  be  only  one  man,  on  account  of  the  unity 
of  the  Word ;  (4)  thus  however  much  the  Body  is  united  sacramentally  with  diverse 
species  in  diverse  altars,  nevertheless  on  account  of  the  unity  of  the  Body  there  is 
only  one  Bread.  And  concerning  the  body  and  the  one  bread  according  to  number, 
the  Apostle  says:  'P'or  we  being  many  are  one  bread  and  one  body.'  For  we  are 
all  this  one  bread  and  this  one  body ;  not,  of  course,  in  essence,  but  in  signification, 
or  comparison.  Just  as  Matthew  says  that  John  is  Elias,  not  naturally,  but  figura- 
tively, because  as  John  did  in  respect  to  the  first  Advent,  so  will  Elias  do  in  respect 
to  the  second  Advent.  So  through  a  like  comparison  we  are  that  bread  and  that 
body ;  for  as  bread  is  made  of  many  grains,  and  a  body  is  made  of  many  members 
which  have  not  the  same  activity,  so  also  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ."     "Caro  autem 

(4)  I  find  this  a  passage  of  peculiar  difficulty.  Prof.  E.  K.  Rand  very  kindly  refers  to 
the  use  of  "supposltum"  in  "Boethius  Contra  Eutychen  et  Nestorium  at  the  end  (Peiper 
pp.  197,  95)  and  elsewhere;  i.e.,  referring  to  the  manifestation  of  the  Word  (verbi  surely 
refers  to  the  L.ogos  here)  in  particular  specimens  of  naturae  humanae.  With  Boethius  in 
mind  (103  tt.)  I  should  translate  'If  the  Word  as  substance'  etc.,  or  'the  substantiatized 
W^rd' — an  ugly  word,  but  given  in  the  Oxford  Concise  Dictionary." 

Page  Eleren 


THE     PEARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

et  sanguis  Christi,  dum  sunt  panis  et  vinum  secundum  speciem,  sunt  sacramentum 
ecclesiee,  seu  ecclesiasticae  unitatis;  et  sic  sunt  proprie  eucharistia;  dum,  scilicet, 
sunt  panis  et  vinum  secundum  speciem,  et  ubi  sic  sunt.  ,  Et  sic  nonest  nisi  unus 
panis  in  omnibus  altaribus;  quia,  sicut  si  suppositum  verbi  assumeret  diversas 
naturas  humanas,  tamen  non  foret  nisi  unus  homo,  propter  unitatem  suppositi  ita 
quamvis  corpus  uniatur  sacrament^liter  diversis  speciebus,  in  diversis  altaribus, 
tamen  propter  unitatem  corporis  non  est  nisi  unus  panis.  Et  de  isto  corpore  et  pane 
uno  secundum  numerum,  dicit  apostolus,  Unus  panis  et  ununt  corpus  multi  sumus. 
Omnes  enim  nos  sumus  ille  unus  panis,  et  illud  unum  corpus;  non  quidem  per  essen- 
tiam,  sed  per  significationem,  seu  assimilationem.  Quomodo  dicit  Matthaeus  quod 
Johannes  ipse  est  Ellas,  non  in  natura,  sed  in  figura;  quia  quemadmodum  Johannes 
se  habuit  respectu  primi  adventus,  ita  Elias  se  habebit  respectu  secundi  adventus. 
Per  similem  quoque  assimilationem  nos  sumus  ille  panis,  et  illud  corpus;  quia  sicut 
panis  ex  multis  granis  congeritur,  et  illud  corpus  ex  multis  membris,  quae  non  eundem 
actum  habent,  conficitur;  ita  quoque  ecclesia  Jesu  Christi,"  Fasciculi  Zizani- 
orum,  p.  176. 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  says  likewise:  "The  Eucharist  is  the  sacrament  of  the 
Church's  unity.  But  a  sacrament  bears  the  likeness  of  the  reality  whereof  it  is 
the  sacrament.  Therefore  the  Eucharist  is  one  sacrament,"  Summa,  p. 235.  "The 
faithful  intercommunicate,"  p.239.  "With  regard  to  the  present  it  has  another  mean- 
ing, namely,  that  of  Ecclesiastical  unity,  in  which  men  are  aggregated  through  this 
Sacrament;  and  in  this  respect  it  is  called  Communion  or  Swa|is.  For  Damascene 
says  that  it  is  called  Communion  because  we  communicate  with  Christ  through  it,  both 
because  we  partake  of  His  Flesh  and  Godhead,  and  because  we  communicate  and  are 
united  to  one  another  through  it.  With  regard  to  the  future  it  has  a  third  meaning, 
inasmuch  as  this  sacrament  foreshadows  the  Divine  fruition  which  shall  come  to  pass 
in  heaven,  and  according  to  this  it  is  called  Viaticum,  because  it  supplies  the  way  of 
winning  thither.  And  in  this  respect  it  is  called  Eucharist,  that  is  good  grace,  because 
full  of  grace,"  p.239. 

The  same  trend  of  thought  is  ascribed  to  the  great  "Lincolniensis"  in  the 
following  passage:  "Grosseteste  writes:  'Every  other  sacrament  receives  its 
power  of  uniting  us  in  communion  with  God  from  this  Sacrament  which  is  primarily 
and  principally  unitive.  For  in  this  Sacrament  is  the  true  Flesh  of  our  Savior 
which  He  took  from  the  Virgin,  and  in  which  He  suffered  to  redeem  us ;  not  separated 
from  His  Soul  nor  from  His  Divinity,  but  inseparably  united.  And  so  in  this  Sacra- 
ment is  the  Son  of  God,  perfect  God  and  perfect  Man,  Who  in  taking  our  humanity 
united  us  to  Himself,  and  made  us  communicate  in  one  nature  with  Himself;  and 
then  giving  back  to  us  His  Flesh  thus  pre-eminently  dignified  to  eat.  He  gathers 
us  together  and  unites  us  with  His  own  Person,  that  we  may  be  all  one  in  Christ, 
perfect  in  His  perfection,"  Waldensis,  De  Euch.  II,  557,  quoted  from  Fr.  Bridgett, 
pp.  313-314. 

This  is  beautifully  expressed  in  the  Hymn  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  "Lauda 
Sion,"  the  Sequence  for  the  Mass  for  Corpus  Christi  Day:  '    . 

Page  Twelve 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

"Sub  diversis  speciebus, 
Signis  tantum  et  non  rebus, 

Latent  res  eximise. 
Caro  cibus,  sanguis  potus: 
Manet  tainen  Christus  totus, 
Sub  utraque  specie. 

A  sumente  non  concisus, 
Non  confractus,  non  divisus, 

Integer  accipitur. 
Sumit  unus,  sumunt  mille; 
Quantum  iste,  tantum  ille, 

Nee  sumptus  consumitur." 

A  very  good  and  representative  version  of  this  doctrine  is  found  in  the  following 
passage  from  "A  Sawley  Monk's  Version  of  Grostete's  'Castle  of  Love'," 
(E.E.T.S.  O.S.  98.  428-9): 

"God  of  all  his  meruailes  made  vs  a  gode  mynd 
•When  he  wold  in  forme  of  brede  dwell  with  mankind. 
Thurgh  the  vertue  of  cristis  wordes  of  the  sacrament 
That  the  prest  reherces  at  his  messe  with  gode  entent, 
Brede  into  cristis  flesch,  &  wyne  in  to  his  blode, 
Sudanly  is  turned,  for  mannes  gastly  fode; 
Nother  brede  ne  wyne  is  after  sacryng  in  the  messe, 
Bot  verray  goddes  flesch  &  blode,  in  their  liknes. 
Ther  is  of  brede  &  wyne  sauour.  colour  &  figure, 
Lastand  thurgh  goddes  wil  agayn  cours  of  nature ; 
But  vnder  this  liknes  is  non  other  substance 
But  goddes  body  &  his  blode  with  thair  purtenance. 
In  crist  god  &  man,  soul  &  body,  flesch  &  blode 
Are  so  fast  knyt  to-geder  with  kynde  &  loue  gode 
That  whar  that  is  any  party  of  cristis  awen  body 
Ther  will  god  be  &  thei  all  verraily. 
Ther-for  vndir  liknes  both  of  wyn  &  brede 
Is  verray  both  god  &  man  that  for  vs  was  dede. 
This  is  goddes  dede,  &  passes  mannes  wit — 
He  has  mekel  mede  that  trewly  trowes  hit.  ... 
If  thou  receyue  his  flesch  &  blode  worthily. 
Thou  sal  be  as  (a)  quik  lym  of  his  body; 
And  if  thou  kepe  the  so  out  of  dedly  synne. 
As  a  cosyn  of  his  thou  sal  heven  wynne.  .  .  . 
If  man  wil  with  al  his  myjt  loue  this  sacrament 
&  vse  it  out  of  dedly  synne  ay  with  gode  entente, 
Nother  tunge  may  wel  telle  ne  hert  may  wel  think 
The  noble  and  gastly  profit  of  this  mete  &  drink." 

Page  Thlrteep 


the    pearl:    an    interpretation 
The  Communion  of  Saints 

This  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  as  the  unitive  force  in  the  spiritual  realm  is 
closely  akin  to  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Communion  of  Saints.  So  closely  was 
the  Eucharist  associated  with  the  Communion  of  Saints  in  the  teaching  of  the  age 
that  sometimes  in  the  expositions  of  the  Creed  that  have  come  down  to  us,  the  article 
"Sanctorum  communionem"  is  explained  by  this  Sacrament.  For  instance,  in  John 
Myrc's  Instructions  for  Parish  Priests  (E.E.T.S.  O.S.  31)  he  paraphrases  this 
portion  of  the  Creed  as  follows: 

"In  ]>e  holy  gost  I  leue  welle; 
In  holy  chyrche  and  hyre  spelle. 
In  goddes  body  I  be-leue  nowe, 
A-monge  hys  seyntes  to  jeue  me  rowe,"     vv. 444-7. 

Also,  though  not  so  well  expressed,  in  the  Sawley  Monk's  Version  of  Grostete's 
Castle  of  Love  we  find: 

"We  trow  in  haly  kirk,  &  haly  mannes  dedes. 
That  god  ay  with  his  grace  thaim  strenghtes  wel  &  spedes 
In  trouth  &  sacramentz  &  dedes  of  charite, 
Thurgh  which  to  the  repentant  forgifnes  of  synne  sal  be."     p.  432. 

This  belief  that  at  the  Mass  the  whole  company  of  heaven  was  present  is 
registered  in  the  Canon  itself:  "Remember,  O  Lord,  Thy  servants,  both  men  and 
women  NN.,  and  all  those  present  and  all  faithful  Christians  whose  faith  and 
devotion  are  known  to  Thee;  for  whom  we  offer  unto  Thee  this  sacrifice  of  praise, 
for  themselves  and  all  theirs,  for  the  redemption  of  their  souls,  for  the  hope  of 
their  safety  and  security,  and  they  now  pay  their  vows  to  Thee,  the  eternal,  living 
and  true  God.  Communicating  with  and  venerating  the  memory  ...  of  the 
ever-virgin  Mary  .  .  .  and  all  Thy  Saints.  .  .  .  We  therefore  beseech  Thee, 
O  Lord,  that  Thou  wouldst  be  pleased  to  accept  this  oblation  of  our  servitude,  as 
also  of  Thy  whole  family.  ..."  "Memento,  Domine,  famulorum  famularumque 
tuarum  N.  et  omnium  circumstantium  atque  omnium  fidelium  Christianorum  quorum 
tibi  fides  cognita  est  et  nota  devotio;  pro  quibus  tibi  offerimus  vel  qui  tibi  offerunt 
hoc  sacrificium  laudis,  pro  se  suisque  omnibus  pro  redemptione  animarum  suarum, 
pro  spe  salutis  et  incolumitatis  suae,  tibique  reddunt,  vota,  sua  eeterno  Deo,  vivo 
et  vero.  Communicantes  et  memoriam  venerantes  .  .  .  gloriosae  et  semper  virginis 
Mariee  .  .  .  et  omnium  sanctorum  tuorum.  .  .  .  Hanc  igitur  oblationem  servi- 
tutis  nostrae,  sed  et  cunctse  familiae  tuee,  qusesumus,  Domine,  ut  placatus  accipias.  ..." 
Missale  ad  Usum  Sarum,  pp.  614-5.  See  also  the  York  Use,  Lay  Folk's  Mass 
Book,  pp.  104-6. 

The  following  witnesses  testify  to  the  same:  Alcuin  says:  "Who  of  the 
faithful  could  doubt  that  in  this  mystery  of  Jesus  Christ  the  chorus  of  angels  is 
present,  the  highest  consorts  with  the  lowest,  the  earth  is  joined  with  the  heavens." 
"Quis  fidelium  habere  dubium  possit,  in  illo  Jesu  Christi  mysterio  angelorum  chorus 
adesse,  summa  imis  sociari,  terram  coelestibus  jungi,"  Migne  P.  L.  CI.  1087.     St. 

Page  Fourteen 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

Anselm  says:  "Do  not  doubt  that  in  this  hour  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Thy  Redeemer,  angels  are  present  with  their  Creator."  "Nee  dubites  in 
ilia  hora  sacrificii  corporis  et  sanguinis  tui  Redemptoris  angelos  adesse  suo  creatori," 
Migne  P.  L.  CLVIII.  918.  Innocent  III  says:  "The  angels  are  always  present 
in  this  sacrifice."  "Angeli  semper  in  sacrificio  preesentes  exsistunt,"  Migne  P.  L. 
CCXVII.  891,  Odo  de  Soliaco,  Bishop  of  Paris,  says:  "The  whole  company  of 
heaven  is  present  with  our  Saviour  as  often  as  the  mass  is  celebrated."  "Tota  curia 
coelestis  cum  Salvatore  nostro  praesens  adest  quoties  missa  celebratus,"  Migne 
P.  L.  CCXII.  60. 

The  course  mapped  out  by  the  Church  to  be  observed  by  one  who  had  lost  a 
dear  one  by  death,  was  to  cease  mourning  and  seek  aid  for  himself  and  for  his 
dear  one  in  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Eucharist  as  the  one  sure  meeting  place  (5). 
If  the  soul  of  the  departed  were  imperfect  the  Eucharist  was  the  greatest  offering 
that  might  be  made  for  reparation  and  cleansing;  if  the  soul  were  pure  enough  to 
enter  heaven,  the  Eucharist  was  the  most  intimate  meeting  place  where  the  lonely 
mourner  might  flee  for  communion  with  his  loved  one.  Yet  this  contact  must  lose 
its  earthly  selfishness  and  seclusion  and  must  be  sought  through  the  mediation  of 
and  in  the  presence  of  Christ,  in  His  Sacrament. 

The  Adoration  of  the  Lamb 

The  great  danger  in  an  exposition  of  the  place  which  the  Eucharist  held  in  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  fourteenth  century  is  not  exaggeration,  but  understatement. 
Nowadays  when  amongst  many  people  that  Sacrament  is  regarded  purely  as  a 
memorial — sweetly  pious,  it  is  true,  and  to  be  apprdached  with  reverence;  or  as  a 
social  prerogative  distinguishing  the  church  member  from  the  non-member  or  the 
confirmed  person  from  the  unconfirmed ;  or  as  an  exhausted  symbol  which  has  lost 
whatever  vague  meaning  it  once  may  have  possessed  for  the  unenlightened;  now- 
adays it  is  difficult  to  appreciate  the  awe,  the  delight,  the  ecstasy  with  which  men 
approached  it.  There  the  contact  with  Christ  was  as  real  and  more  vital  than  was 
that  of  the  Magi  at  Bethlehem.  There  they  brought  in  the  same  worshipful  awe 
all  the  gifts  that  hearts  burning  with  love  could  lay  at  His  feet.  There  they  were 
lifted  out  of  time  and  space  and  rapt  into  union  with  the  eternal  spring  of  energy. 
For  a  time  individuality  was  merged  into  oneness  with  all  perfection.  It  is  this 
actual  oneness_aJLt_he  whole  Church  at  the  Mass  —  the  Church  Militant,  the  Church 
Expectant  and  the  Church  Triumphant  —  which  is  expressed  in  the  frontispiece  of 
this  book  (6),  which  also  Meucci  has  attempted  to  express  in  his  painting  of  the 
Elevation,  and  greatest  of  all,  the  brothers  Van  Eyck,  in  the  marvelous  Adoration 

(5)  As  St.  Ambrose  says  to  Faustinus  on  his  sister's  death:  "Therefore  I  think  she 
Is  not  so  much  to  be  deplored  as  to  be  followed  by  prayers,  nor  do  I  judge  that  she  should 
be  mourned  with  your  tears  but  rather  that  her  soul  should  be  <ommended  to  God  by 
oblations."  "Itaque  non  tam  deplorandam,  quam  prosequendam  oratlonlbus  reor;  nee 
moestiflcandum  lacrymis  tuls,  sed  magis  oblationibus  animam  ejus  Domino  commendan- 
dam  arbitror,"   (Epi8t.39,  No.  4   [P.L.,XVI.1099]).     Quoted  from  Rock  II,  260. 

(6)  Permission  to  use  this  cut  was  granted  by  the  publishers,  the  Society  of  Saints 
Peter  and  Paul. 

Page  Fifteen 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

of  the  Lamb,  known  more  commonly  as  the  Ghent  Altar.  To  the  man  whose  path 
has  not  led  him  into  the  more  intimate  spiritual  life  of  the  Middle  Ages,  this  altar 
piece  would  present  only  a  well-massed,  well-executed  design  from  the  Apocalypse 
together  with  scenes  commemorative  of  the  history  of  the  Redemption.  To  the  one 
who  reads  in  close  sympathy  with  the  beliefs  of  the  Middle  Ages,  it  is  clear  at 
once  that  the  painters  were  attempting  the  exposition  of  the  Eucharist.  As  one  who 
is  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  judge  the  spiritual  things  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Mr.  Ralph 
Adams  Cram,  says : 

"The  work  is  one  vast,  comprehensive  and  sacramental  manifestation  of  the 
central  Catholic  sacrament  of  the  mass,  searching  and  final  in  its  symbolism,  con- 
summate in  its  mastery  of  all  the  elements  that  enter  into  the  makeup  of  a  great 
work  of  pictorial  and  decorative  art,  unapproached  and  unapproachable  in  its  splen- 
dor of  living  and  radiant  colour.  In  its  philosophical  grasp,  its  technical  perfection, 
its  unearthly  beauty,  its  communication  of  the  very  essence  of  a  fundamental 
mystery,  and  in  its  evocative  power  it  staggers  the  imagination  and  takes  its  place 
amongst  the  few  great  works  of  man,  in  any  category,  which  are  so  far  beyond 
what  seems  possible  of  achievement  that  they  rank  as  definitely  superhuman.  So 
far  as  its  spiritual  content  is  concerned,  it  can  no  more  be  estimated  than  can  the 
mass  itself,  or  the  Venus  of  Melos.  If  the  Van  Eycks  are  responsible  for  this,  they 
rank  with  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Shakespeare  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci  as  the 
greatest  creative  forces  amongst  men.  Of  course  they  were  not,  nor  the  others, 
named.  Somehow  each  was  used  by  something  greater  than  he:  the  concentrated 
consciousness  of  his  fellows,  the  underlying  and  informing  time-spirit  of  an  era  — 
or  why  not  God  Himself? — ;  as  a  channel  through  which  and  by  which  absolute 
truth  was  communicated  to  man,  who,  of  his  own  motion,  can  do  much,  but  not  so 
much  as  this,"  Heart  of  Europe,  p. 228.     (7) 


The  Pearl  of  the  New  Testament 

/  The  pearl  is  par  excellence  the  precious  stone  of  the  New  Testament.  In  the 
Old  Testament  we  have  lists  of  precious  stones  in  various  places  testifying  to  the 
remnant  of  belief  in  the  virtue  of  precious  stones  both  natural  and  engraved  (see 
the  author's  "Precious  Stones  in  Old  English  Literature,"  Miinchener  Beitrage 
XLVII,  pp.  3-5).     With  the  exception  of  the  list  in  the  Apocalypse  of  the  twelve 

(7)  The  possibility  of  connecting  the  Ghent  Altar  with  the  poem  of  The  Pearl  for 
purposes  of  comparison  and  elucidation  has  already  occurred  to  two  scholars,  at  least: 
Dr.  Osgood,  in  a  footnote  at  the  close  of  his  introduction,  while  speaking  of  the  economy 
of  the  poem,  compares  it  in  passing  to  "Van  Eyck's  Adoration  of  the  Lamb,  or  MemMng's 
vision  of  the  emerald  rainbow  in  the  right  wing  of  his  triptych.  The  Marriage  of  St. 
Catherine.  The  study  of  either  picture  might  be  an  effective  means  of  entering  into  the 
spirit  of  The  Pearl."     Introduction,  p.lvlii. 

Jusserand,  in  his  Literary  History  of  the  English  People,  in  commenting  on  The  Pearl, 
says:  "It  seems  as  if  the  poet  were  describing  beforehand,  figure  by  figure.  Van  Eyck's 
painting  at  St.  Bavon  of  Ghent,"  p.352. 

As  an  example  of  the  treatment  of  this  dogma  in  the  high  Renaissance,  it  is  well  to 
study  the  description  of  the  great  custodia  (tabernacle)  of  Seville  Cathedral  as  described 
by  its  author,  Juan  de  Arfe.  See  The  Arts  and  Crafts  of  Older  Spain,  by  Leonard  Williams. 
3  vols.     Vol.III,  App.C. 

Page  Sixteen 


J 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

foundations  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  which  is  a  fairly  close  copy  of  the  selection 
in  the  High  Priest's  breastplate,  the  pearl  is  the  only  precious  stone  mentioned  in 
the  New  Testament.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  pearl  does  not  occur  at  all.  The 
passages  in  the  New  Testament  are:  "Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  dogs, 
neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,"  St.  Matthew  7,6;  "Again,  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant  man,  seeking  goodly  pearls:  Who,  when  he  had 
found  one  pearl  of  great  price,  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it,"  St. 
Matthew,  13,  45.46;  "And  the  twelve  gates  (of  the  heavenly  city)  were  twelve 
pearls:  every  several  gate  was  of  one  pearl,"  Rev.  21,  21.  These  are  the  important 
references  to  the  pearl,  the  one  in  I  Timothy  2,  9  being  of  no  special  value.  But 
these  three  citations,  two  from  the  lips  of  Christ  Himself,  would  be  enough  to 
invest  the  pearl  with  a  rich  symbolism — a  paradise  for  the  interpreter  and  com- 
mentator. Those  interpretations  are  likely  to  be  most  favored  which  seek  in  the 
pearl  something  allied  closely  to  Christ  Himself. 

To  the  man  of  the  fourteenth  century  who  was  loyal  to  the  Church  and  its 
teachings,  Christ  was  more  truly  with  His  people  in  His  covenanted  meeting  place 
upon  the  altar  than  elsewhere.  Witness  the  lovely  song  to  our  Lord  present  in  the 
Sacrament: 

"For  loue  myn  herte  wole  toberste 
Whanne  y  )?at  fair  loue  biholde." 

—The  Love  of  Jesus.    E.E.T.S.  O.S.  24,  p.  30. 

So  it  will  be  profitable  to  see  if  there  are  any  cases  of  identification  of  the  pearl 
with  the  Eucharist. 

The   Pearl  as  Symbolic  of  the  Eucharist 

The  Host  as  Pearl — Candida.    .    .    .    Rotunda  sit  Hostia  Christi. 

Great  care  was  taken  in  the  preparation  of  altar-breads  that  no  impurity  or 
imperfection  should  be  in  them.  They  were  made  in  a  fitting  place,  by  "ministers 
of  the  church"  properly  vested.  Synodical  enactments  show  how  important  it  was 
to  safeguard  them  from  profane  hands.  In  the  Constit.  Willielmi  de  Bleys,  A.  D. 
1229,  for  the  diocese  of  Lincoln  we  read:  "Let  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  clad 
in  surplices,  sit  in  a  proper  place,  when  they  make  the  hosts.  The  irons  in  which 
the  hosts  are  to  be  baked  should  be  lined  with  wax,  not  oil,  or  other  grease ;  the 
hosts  having  a  proper  whiteness  and  a  decent  roundness  should  be  offered  upon 
the  mensa  of  the  altar."  "Ministri  ecclesiae  induti  superpelliciis  in  loco  honesto 
sedeant,  quando  oblatas  faciunt.  Instrumentum,  in  quo  oblatse  coquendae  sunt,  cera 
tantum  liniatur,  non  oleo,  vel  alio  sagimento ;  oblatse  honestum  candorem  et  decentem 
rotunditatem  (8)  hebentes,  supra  mensam  altaris  offerantur."  Quoted  from  Rock, 
I,  p.  124.     Note. 

(8)  St.  Jerome  singrs  the  mystical  praises  of  roundness  whiich  lie  links  with  high 
spiritual  attainment,  the  Eucharist  and  the  Festival  of  the  Immaculate  Lamb:  "Through  a 
circular  room  and  by  a  circular  stairtase  we  ascend  to  the  upper  chamber  of  the  Temple, 
which  figure  is  held  by  the  philosophers  of  this  world  to  be  the  most  beautiful  amongst 
all    schemata:    for    the    heaven   and    the   sun,    and   the   moon    and    the   other   stars,    and   the 

Pagre  Serenteen 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

The  order  of  the  Synod  held  at  Exeter  in  1287  under  Peter  Quivil  is  as 
follows : 

(cap.  iv) :  "The  breads  must  be  flawless,  white  and  round."  "Sint  et  oblatae 
integrae  candidae  et  rotundae."  (Woolley,  The  Bread  of  the  Eucharist,  p.  31.) 
Again,  in  the  Constitutiones  Synodales  Sodorensis  (1350)  it  is  ordered  (cap  ii) : 
"The  Host  shall  be  of  wheat,  round  and  flawless  and  without  spot,  because  the 
Lamb  was  without  spot  and  no  bone  of  it  was  broken.     Hence  the  verse: 

'White,  wheaten,  then,  not  large,  round. 
Unleavened,  unadulterated  be  the  host  of  Christ, 
Stamped,  not  boiled,  but  baked  with  fire.' 

"Hostia  de  frumento  sit,  rotunda  et  integra  et  sine  macula,  quia  agnus  extitit  sine 
macula  et  os  non  fuit  comminutum  ex  eo.     Unde  versus: 

'Candida  triticea,  tenuis,  non  magna,  rotunda, 
Expers  fermenti,  non  mista  sit  hostia  Christi, 
Inscribatur,  aqua  non  cocta  sed  igne  sit  assa.'   Woolley  p.  31. 

Wyclif  meHtions  these  two  qualities:  "As  to  ]?e  first  (heresy  of  the  friars) 
we  seyn,  siker  of  oure  feyth,  ]?at  ]>o  whyte  )?ing  and  rounde  ]7at  J?e  prest  sacris, 
like  to  ]>o  unsacrid  oostis,  and  is  broken  and  eeten  is  verrely  Godes  body  in  ]>o 
fourme  of  bred."  (De  Blasphemia  contra  Fratres.  Arnold  III.  p.  403).  The 
Augustinian  friar  Thomas  Wyntirton  mentions  "ipsa  alba  hostia  et  rotunda  con- 
secrata.  .  .quae  est  ipsum  corpus."     (Fasciculi  Zizaniorum  p.  198.) 

point  of  the  earth;  in  the  human  body  the  eyes  (like  other  stars)  and  the  shape  of  the 
head  which  is  the  receptacle  of  all  the  senses,  and  the  well-turned  fingers,  and  the  thighs 
and  the  arms  reveal  this  roundness.  Moreover,  the  upper  room  of  the  Temple  to  which 
we  ascend  from  the  lower  regions  to  the  higher,  this  I  take  to  be  that  which  in  the  Book 
of  Kings,  Elias  occupied,  and  Elisha,  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Tabitha  (i.e.,  Sopxas 
and  in  Latin  (damula)  possessed,  to  the  top  of  which  she  ascended  through  good  works. 
Then,  too,  Peter  the  Apostle,  upon  whom  the  Lord  builded  the  foundations  of  the  Church, 
went  above  the  upper  room  and  came  to  the  roof,  which  more  significantly  is  called  Swfw 
in  Greek,  i.e.,  the  solar  chamber  of  the  roof,  and  first  acknowledged  before  the  world  the 
hitherto  upknown  sacraments  of  the  Church.  The  Savior  of  the  human  race  also  made 
His  Pasch  in  an  upper  room,  an  upper  room  great  and  broad,  cleansed  from  all  filth  and 
made  ready  for  the  spiritual  feast  where  He  gave  into  the  keeping  of  His  disciples  the 
mystery  of  the  Body  and  Blood,  and  left  to  us  the  eternal  Festival  of  the  Immaculate 
Larmb."  "Per  rotundum  autem  &  per  cochleam  ascendimus  Templi  coanaculum,  quae 
flgura  inter  omnia  (rv^/xara  a  Philosophis  quoque  hujus  saeculi  pulchrior  appro batur: 
dum  &  caelum,  &  sol,  &  luna,  &  astra  caetera,  &  punctum  terrae;  in  corporibus  quoque 
humanis,  oculi,  quasi  altera  sidera,  &  figura  capitis,  quod  omnium  sensuum  receptaculum 
est,  teretesque  digiti,  &  femina,  &  brachia  hanc  praeferunt  rotunditatem.  Porro  coena- 
culum  Templi,  ad  quod  de  angustioribus  ad  altiora  conscendimus,  illud  puto  esse,  quod  in 
Regum  volumine  Elias  habuit,  &  Elisaeus,  &  in  Apostolorum  actibus,  Tabitha,  id  est,  86pKa<i 
&  damula  nostra  possedit,  quae  bonis  operibus  ad  summa  conscenderat.  Apostolus  autem 
Petrus,  super  quem  Dominus  Ecclesiae  fundamenta  solidavit,  transcendit  coenaculum,  & 
venit  ad  tectum,  significantius  Graece  Stona  dicitur,  id  est,  tecti  solarium:  et  incognita 
prlus  saeculo  Ecclesiae  sacramenta  cognovit.  Salvator  quoque  generis  humani  Pascha 
fecit  in  coenaculo,  et  magno  latoque  coenaculo,  atque  omni  sorde  purgato  stratoque,  &  ad 
Bpirituale  convivium  praeparato,  ubi  mysterium  Corporis  &  Sanguinis  suis  tradidit  dis- ' 
cipulis,  &  aeternam  nobis  agni  iihmaculati  reliquit  festivitatem,"  Hieronymus  (ed.  Vallar- 
sius)   Commentarium  in  Ezechielem,  Liber  XII,  Caput  XLI,  col. 498. 

Page  Bighteen 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

These  qualities  are  given  a  symbolic  significance  in  the  poem  on  the  Feast  of 
Corpus  Christi: 

"Beo  \>e  makyng  of  )?e  oblee 
Wei  and  skilfoliche  me  may  se 
Of  wjyche  we  make  Godus  flesch, 
pis  is  \>e  saumple  whose  wol  esch. 
Hit  is  made  be  seuen  skiles 
Ajeyn  )?e  seuene  dedly  synnes: 
Ajeyn  Lecherie  hit  is  whit .  . . 
Hit  is  round  and  liht  to  )7rowe, 
Ajeyn  SleuJ?e,  J?at  make)?  men  slowe."     EETS.OS.98.p.l78.v.217.  ff. 

White,  round,  flawless,  compared  to  the  Lamb  without  spot,  the  host  is  pos-  v- 
sessed  of  such  outward  characteristics  as  might  well  bring  to  the  mind  of  a  poet- 
beholding  it,  the  Pearl  of  great  price. 

Indeed,  the  conception  of  the  consecrated  Host  as  a  pearl  is  not  unknown.  It 
exists  in  very  widely  scattered  places:  In  the  Byzantine  Liturgy  before  the  eighth 
century  a  variant  use  for  /xepi's,  a  particle  of  the  consecrated  Bread,  is  'pearl' 
(Brightman,  Eastern  Liturgies,  Appendix  0,  p.  530),  and  in  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Coptic  Jacobites  in  the  rubric  "he  shall  lay  the  elements  from  his  hand  on  the 
paten,"  the  Arabic  reads  janhar,  pearls  (ibid.  p.  185). 

Less  remote  than  these  is  the  reference  from  Venantius  Fortunatus  in  his 
verses  to  Bishop  Felix  Bourges,  written  on  his  tabernacle  made  to  contain  the  Re- 
served Host: 

"How  well  constructed  ought  those  golden  gifts  to  be 
Which  contain  the  great  Pearl  of  the  Sacred  Body  of  the  Lamb !" 
"Quam  bene  juncta  decent,  sacrati  ut  corporis  agni 
Margarltum    ingens    aurea    dona    ferant,"    Venantii    Fortunati    Operum    Pars    I. 
Misc. — Lib.    III.    Caput    XXV.      Ad    Felicem    episcopum    Biturigensem, 
scriptum  in  turrem  ejus. 

The  Eucharist'  a  Pearl 

Closely  knit  with  this  thought  is  that  of  the  Holy  Mysteries  of  the  Eucharist 
as  the  Pearl  of  great  price.  St.  John  Chrysostom,  in  commenting  on  the  passage,^  / 
St.  Matthew,  7.6,,  'neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine,"  says:  "For  on  this 
account  we  celebrate  the  mysteries  behind  closed  doors,  and  dismiss  those  not  initiated, 
not  because  we  discover  any  defect  in  them,  but  because  many  of  them  are  too  im- 
perfect to  be  allowed  to  be  present,"  Migne  P.G.  57.3 H.  Rabanus  Maurus  says: 
"By  pearls  is  meant  spiritual  sacraments,  as  in  the  Gospel:  'neither  cast  ye  your 
pearls  before  swine,'  that  is,  do  not  intrust  the  inner  mysteries  to  the  impure." 
"Per  margaritas  spiritualia  sacramenta,  ut  in  Evangelio:  'ne  mittatis  margaritas 
vestras  ante  porcos,'  id  est,  interna  mysteria  non  commitatis  immundis,"  Migne  P.  L. 
112,  p.  996.     Quoted  from  Schofield,  p.  635. 

Page  Nineteen 


THK      PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

St.  Jerome,  in  commenting  on  the  merchant  and  the  goodly  pearls,  says:  "The 
good  pearls  which  the  peddler  sought  are  the  Law  and  the  prophets.  Hear,  Mar- 
cion;  hear,  Manichaeans;  the  good  pearls  are  the  Law  and  the  prophets  and  famil- 
iarity with  the  Old  Testament.  However,  the  one  most  precious  pearl  is  the 
knowledge  of  the  Savior  (9),  the  Sacrament  of  His  Passion,  and  the  Mystery  of 
His  Resurrection.  Which,  when  the  merchant  found,  like  Paul  the  Apostle,  all 
the  mysteries  of  the  Law  and  the  prophets  and  the  former  observances,  in  which 
he  had  lived  blamelessly,  he  despised  as  filth  and  rubbish,  that  he  might  gain  Christ. 
Not  that  the  finding  of  the  goodly  pearl  is  the  condemnation  of  the  old  pearls,  but 
that  in  comparison  with  it,  every  other  gem  is  of  less  worth."  "Bonae  margaritae, 
quas  quaerit  institor.  Lex  et  prophetae  sunt.  Audi,  Marcion;  audi,  Manichaee: 
bonae  margaritae  sunt  Lex  et  prophetae,  et  notitia  veteris  Instrument!.  Unum  autem 
est  pretiosissimum  margaritum,  scientia  Salvatoris,  et  sacramentum  passionis  illius, 
et  resurrectionis  arcanum.  Quod  cum  invenerit  homo  negotiator,  similis  Pauli  apos- 
toli,  omnia  legis  prophetarumque  mysteria,  et  observationes  pristinas,  in  quibus 
inculpate  vixerat,  quasi  purgamenta  contemnit  et  quisquilias,  ut  Christum  lucrifaciat 
(Philip.  III).  Non  quo  inventio  novae  margaritae  condemnatio  sit  veterum  mar- 
garitarum:  sed  quo  comparatione  ejus  omnis  alia  gemma  vilior  sit,"  In  Evangelium 
Matthaei.     Migne  P.  L.  184.947. 

Add  to  this  the  fine  apostrophe  addressed  to  our  Lord  in  the  Sacrament  by 
Ogerius  in  his  sermon  on  the  Lord's  Supper:  "O  great  honor,  inestimable  exuber- 
ance of  love,  implanted  goodness,  incomprehensible  pity !  By  His  Will,  we  un- 
worthy ones  who  are  slaves,  have  come — and  yet  he  has  deigned  to  receive  us  and 
call  us  friends.  Bestower  of  sweetness,  lover  of  love — yes,  even  dear  love  itself, 
and  blessed  delight,  and  delightful  tranquility,  and  sure  security,  and  happy  eternity, 
and  eternal  happiness.  Lord  Jesu,  wholly  desirable,  wholly  lovable,  incomparable 
treasure.  Pearl  beyond  price,  life  of  the  living,  hope  of  the  dying,  and  the  eternal 
happiness  of  those  who  for  His  love  are  unhappy  in  this  world."  "O  magna  dignatio, 
inaestimabilis  charitatis  exuberatio,  inolita  bonitas,  ininterpretabilis  pietas !  Ab  ejus 
conditione  qui  servi  sumus,  invenimur,  indigni,  et  tamen  nos  dignatur  habere  et  vocare 
amicos.  Largitor  dulcedinis,  amator  charitatis,  imo  charitas  chara,  et  beata  ju- 
cunditas,  et  jucunda  tranquillitats,  et  seeura  securitas,  et  felix  aeternitas,  et  aeterna 
felicitas,   Dominus   Jesus   totus   desiderabilis,   totus   amabilis,  thesaurus   incompara- 


(9)   This  seems  to  be  nearly  the  idea  of  Gower,  In  his  Mirour  de   lOmme,  where   tlie 
Pearl  is  Heavenly  Contemplation  conceived  in  the  shell  Devotion: 

"Devocioun  q'ensi  s'acline 
A  dieu,  Isidre  la  difflne 
Semblable  au  mouscle  en  son  degrfi, 
La  quelle  au  ryve  q'est  marine 
S'escales  overe  a  la  pectrine, 
Si  en  recoit  de  douls  ros4, 
Que  chiet  du  ciel  tout  en  celSe, 
Dont  puis  deinz  soi  ad  engendrg 
La  margarite  blanche  et  fine; 
Ensi  Devocioun  en  d6e 
Concelpt,  s'elle  est  continue. 
La  Contemplacioun  divine." 

vv.10813-10824. 

Page  Twenty 


THE      PEARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

bills,  margarita  inaestimabilis,  vita  viventium,  spes  morientium,  aeterna  eorum 
felicitas,  qui  pro  illius  amore  se  in  hoc  saeculo  infelices  fecere/'  Ogeri  Sermo  in 
Coena  Domini.     Migne  P.  L.  184.947. 

Here,  too,  seems  to  belong  the  passage  noticed  by  Prof.  A.  S.  Cook,  from  St. 
Ephrem  the  Sj-rian,  'The  Pearl;  or  Seven  Rhythms  on  the  Faith':  "On  a  certain 
day  a  pearl  did  I  take  up,  my  brethren.  I  saw  in  it  mysteries  pertaining  to  the 
Kingdom;  semblances  and  types  of  the  Majesty;  it  became  a  fountain,  and  I  drunk 
out  of  it  mysteries  of  the  Son.  I  put  it,  my  brethren,  upon  the  palm  of  my  hand, 
that  I  might  examine  it ;  I  went  to  look  at  it  on  one  side,  and  it  proved  faces  on 
all  sides,"  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  Vol.  XX,  p.   118.  ^ 

Christ  as  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price 

Very  closely  linked  with  the  foregoing  passages  are  those  which  see  in  the 
pearl  of  great  price,  Christ.     These  are  very  numerous: 

Origen  says:  "This  is  the  precious  pearl,  namely  Christ,  the  Word  of  God," 
Migne  P.  G.  13.847. 

In  the  Carmina  Orientio  Tributa,  De  Epithetis  Salvatoris  Nostri,  He  is  called 
"Pearl,  Day,  Lamb.  Pearl,  for  what  is  found  more  precious?  Whence  Day?  because 
He  shines  more  brightly  than  the  light;  then  because  He  is  holy  and  innocent,  He 
is  called  a  Lamb  Who  alone  can  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world." 

"margarita:  quid  hoc  pretiosius  inueniatur? 

unde  dies  ?  quod  luce  magis  resplendeat. 

tunc  quia  sit  sanctus  innoxius  agnus  habetus 

qui  potuit  solus  peccatum  tollere  mundi."     Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum 

Latinorum  ed.  consilio  et  impensis  Academiae  Litterarum  Caesareae  Vin- 

dobonensis;  Vol.  XVI  p.  288. 

Bade,  in  his  Exposition  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  says:  "Again  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls,  etc.  Having  found  a 
precious  pearl  he  sold  all  that  he  had ;  because  in  comparison  with  the  celestial  life, 
all  things  become  cheap.  If  you  wish  indeed  to  search  for  holy  men,  you  will  find 
one  Jesus  Christ,  in  Whom  all  guile  is  lacking,  to  be  better  than  all."  "Iterum  simile 
est  regnum  coelorum  homini  negotiatori,  quaerenti  bonas  margaritas,  etc.  Inventa 
una  margarita  pretiosa,  omnia  quae  habuit  vendidit;  quia  in  comparatione  coelestis 
vitae  omnia  habita  vilescunt.  Si  vero  sanctos  homines  scrutare  vis,  unum  Jesum 
Christum,  qui  absque  culpa  est,  omnibus  meliorem  invenies,"  Migne  P.  L.  69. 

St.  Ambrose  calls  Christ  the  Pearl  (Migne  P.  L.  17.715);  St.  Paulinus  of  Nola 
calls  Him  "The  Pearl  of  the  Gospel"  (Migne  P.  L.  61.276,298).  Likewise  in  the 
Clavis  S.  Melitonis  is:  "Margarita,  Dominus  Jesus  Christus.  In  Evangelio  In- 
venta una  pretiosa  margarita,"  Analecta  Sacra  Spicilegio  Solesmensi  ed.  J.  B.  Card. 
Pitra.  Tom.  II,  p.  32.  St.  Augustine  says:  "'The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  a 
merchant  seeking  goodly  pearls.  Having  found  one  pearl  of  great  price  he  went 
and  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  it.'  The  question  is,  why  does  it  change 
from  the  plural  number  to  the  singular,  as  when  the  man  sought  goodly  pearls,  he 

Page  Twenty-one 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

found  one  of  great  price,  which,  selling  all  that  he  had,  he  bought.  Or,  let  us 
say,  this  man  seeking  good  men,  when  he  lives  usefully  with  them,  finds  one  greater 
than  all,  without  sin,  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus  (I 
Tim.  ii.5)  ;  or  seeking  precepts  under  whose  protection  he  may  have  converse  with 
men,  he  finds  at  length  a  selection  in  which  alone,  the  apostle  says,  all  are  con- 
tained; as,  'Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not 
steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment,' 
like  separate  pearls,  they  'are  comprehended  in  this  saying,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.'  (Rom.  xiii.8.9.)  But  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  man 
sought  goodly  pearls  and  found  the  One  in  Which  all  are  contained,  in  the  beginning 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  with  God,  and  the  Word  being  God  (Joan.i.l),  shining  with 
the  whiteness  of  truth,  and  firm  with  the  solidity  of  eternity,  and  alike  on  all  sides 
with  the  beauty  of  divinity,  by  which  is  understood  God,  having  penetrated  the 
shell  of  flesh.  For  he  had  found  a  pearl  in  truth,  which  lay  hidden  for  a  time  in 
the  wrappings  of  mortality  as  in  the  hardness  of  a  shell,  at  the  bottom  of  this  life 
and  among  the  hard  rocks  of  the  Jews;  he  moreover  has  found  the  Pearl  in  truth 
who  said:  'And  though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth 
we  know  Him  no  more'  (II  Cor.v.l5).  Nor  can  anyone  be  at  all  worthy  the  name 
of  Pearl  unless  he  become  one  by  having  destroyed  all  carnal  wrappings  by  which 
he  has  been  covered  (by  human  means  or  by  vain  fancies)  that  he  may  be  perceived 
by  certain  reckoning  to  be  pure,  solid,  and  at  no  point  at  variance  with  himself  (10). 
Moreover,  all  those  true  and  firm  and  perfect  ones  are  comprehended  within  that 
One  by  Whom  all  were  made,  which  is  the  Word  of  God  (Joan.i.l).  However, 
which  of  the  three  it  be  (if  there  be  any  difference  among  them)  that  is  signified  by 
the  name  of  the  One  Precious  Pearl,  its  price  is  ourselves;  who  are  not  free  to  gain 
possession  of  it,  unless  for  our  freedom  we  despise  all  the  things  of  this  world  which 
we  possess.  For  when  all  our  goods  are  sold,  we  cannot  accept  a  greater  price  than 
ourselves;  because  embarrassed  with  such  things,  we  have  not  been  our  own.  So 
again  we  may  give  ourselves  for  this  Pearl,  not  because  we  are  worth  much,  but 
because  we  can  give  no  more."  "  'Simile  est  regnum  coelorum  homini  negotiatori 
quaerenti  bonas  margaritas.     Inventa  autem  una  pretiosa  margarita,  abiit  et  vendidit 

(10)  Here  belongs  the  passage  from  Cleanness  (E.E.T.S.  O.S.  1.69): 
"pou  may  schyne  J^urj  schryfte,  I'aj  fou  haf  schome  serued, 
&  pure  l^e  with  penaunce  til  J^ou  a  perle  worj^e. 
Perle  praysed  is  prys,  per  perre  Is  schewed; 
iJaj  hym  not  derrest  be  demed  to  dele  for  penies, 
Quat  may  \>e  cause  be  called,  but  for  hir  clene  hwes, 
pat  Wynnes  worschyp,  abof  alle  whyte  stones? 
For  ho  schynes  so  schyr  (jat  is  of  schap  rounde, 
Wythouten  faut  o^er  tylpe  jif  ho  fyn  were; 
&  wax  euer  in  ]>e  worlde  in  weryng  so  olde, 
3et  >e  perle  payres  not  whyle  ho  in  pyese  lasttes 
&  if  it  clieue  J^e  chaunce  vncheryst  ho  worpe, 
pat  ho  blyndes  of  ble  in  hour  J>er  ho  llgges, 
No-but  wasch  hir  wyth  wourchyp  in  wyn  as  ho  askes, 
Ho  by  kynde  schal  become  clerer  pen  are; 
pat  he  be  sulped  in  sawle,  seche  to  schryfte 
&  he  may  polyce  hym  at  ]>e  prest,  by  penaunce  taken, 
Wei  bryjter  l>en  J^e  beryl  oj'er  browden  perles."     v.1115  ff. 

Page  Twenty-two 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

omnia  quae  habuit,  et  emit  earn.'  Questio  est  cur  a  numero  plurali  ad  singularem 
transierit,  ut  cum  quaerat  homo  bonas  margaritas,  unam  inveniat  pretiosam,  quam 
venditis  omnibus  quae  habet,  emat.  Aut  ergo  iste  bones  homines  quaerens,  cum 
quibus  utiliter  vivat,  invenit  unum  prae  omnibus  sine  peccato,  mediatorem  Dei  et 
hominum,  hominem  Christum  Jesum  (I  Tim.ii.5):  aut  praecepta  quaerens,  quibus 
servatis  cum  hominibus  recte  conversetur,  invenit  dilectionem  proximi,  in  quo  uno 
dicit  Apostolus  omnia  contineri ;  ut,  Non  occides,  nan  furaheris,  non  falsum  testi- 
monium dices,  et  si  quod  est  aliud  mandatum,  singulae  margaritae  sint,  quae  in  hoc 
sermone  recapitulantur,  Diliges  proximum  tuum  tanquam  teipsum  (Rom.xiii.8.9). 
Aut  bonos  intellectus  homo  quaerit,  et  invenit  unum  illud  quo  cuncti .  continentur,  in 
principio  Verbum,  et  Verbum  apud  Deum,  et  Verbum  Deum  (Joan.i.l),  lucidura 
candore  veritatis,  et  solidum  firmitate  eternitatis,  et  undique  sui  simile  pulchritudine 
divinitatis,  qui  Deus,  penetrata  carnis  testudine,  intelligendus.  Ille  enim  ad  mar- 
garitam  ipsam  jam  pervenerat,  quae  in  tegumentis  mortalitatis,  quasi  concharum 
obstaculo,  in  prof  undo  hujus  saeculi,  atque  inter  duritias  saxeas  Judaeorum  aliquando 
latuerat:  ille  ergo  ad  ipsam  margaritam  jam  pervenerat,  qui  ait,  Et  si  noveramus 
Christum  secundum  carnem,  sed  nunc  jam  non  novimum  (II  Cor.v.l6).  Nee  ullus 
omnino  intellectus  margaritae  nomine  dignus  est,  nisi  ad  quem  discussis  omnibus 
carnalibis  tegminibus  -pervenitur,  quibus  sive  per  verba  humana,  sive  per  similitu- 
dines  circumpositas  operitur,  ut  purus  et  solidus  et  nusquam  a  se  dissonans,  certa 
ratione  cernatur.  Quos  tamen  omnes  veros  et  firmos  et  perfectos  intellectus  unus 
ille  continet,  per  quem  facta  sunt  omnia,  quod  est  Verbum  Dei  (Joan.i.3),  Quodlibet 
autem  horum  trium  sit,  vel  si  aliquid  aliud  occurrere  potuerit,  quod  margaritae  unius 
et  pretiosae  nomine  bene  significetur,  pretium  ejus  est  nos  ipsi:  qui  ad  eam  possi- 
dendam  non  sumus  liberi,  nisi  omnibus  pro  nostra  liberatione  contemptis,  quae  tem- 
poraliter  possidentur.  Venditis  enim  rebus  nostris,  nullum  earum  ma  jus  accipimus 
pretium,  quam  nos  ipsos ;  quia  talibus  implicati,  nostri  non  eramus ;  ut  rursus  nos 
ipsos  pro  ilia  margarita  demus,  non  quia  tanti  valeamus,  sed  quia  plus  dare  non 
possumus,"  Quaestionum  Septemdecim  in  Matthaeum  Liber  Unus.  Migne  P.L.35.1371. 

The  Smaller  Pearls  in  Their  Relation  to  the  Great  Pearl 

St.  Augustine,  in  the  passage  quoted  above,  has  shown  that  the  smaller  pearls, 
which  we  may  each  become,  are  merged  into  the  larger — the  Pearl  of  Great  Price. 
Compare  with  this  passage  the  mystical  interpretation  of  the  pearly  gates  of  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem  as  given  by  Rupert  of  Deutz:  "  'Et  duodecim  portae,  etc'  The 
apostles,  as  has  already  been  said,  are  called  both  the  foundations  and  the  gates,  in 
a  wonderful  wise — are  called  in  the  foundations  by  the  names  of  precious  stones, 
and  in  the  gates  by  the  glorious  likeness  of  precious  pearls;  for  Christ  is  the 
precious  stone  and  the  precious  pearl,  which,  when  the  merchant  had  found 
(Matth.xiii),  he  bought,  giving  for  it  all  that  he  had.  He  Himself  making  them 
in  His  own  likeness,  granted  this  to  them,  that  in  the  foundations  and  in  the  gates 
they  should  be  of  the  beauty  of  pearls.  For  the  beauty,  or  grace,  and  the  glory  of 
these  gates,  through  which,  coming  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  we  shall 
enter  into  that  City,  might  not  be  expressed  more  beautifully  nor  more  aptly  than 

Page  Twenty-throe 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

by  the  name  and  nature  of  pearls.  Truly,  like  as  a  noble  woman  adorned  with 
precious  pearls  for  the  eyes  of  her  husband  is  magnificent  to  the  eyes  of  men;  so 
this  city  which  is  the  Church,  is  made  magnificent  by  such  princes,  such  fathers, 
such  apostles,  thus  adorned  like  a  bride  for  her  husband  Christ."  "Sequitur  adhuc: 
'Et  duodecim  portae  (etc.).'  Apostoli,  sicut  jam  dictum  est,  et  fundamenta  dicuntur 
et  portae,  miroque  modo  et  in  fundamentis  pretiosorum  nominibus  lapidum,  et  in 
portis  pretiosarum  gloriosi  praedicantur  similitudine  margaritarum :  Christus  enim 
pretiosus  lapis  et  pretiosa  margarita,  quam  inventam  negotiator  sapiens  emit 
(Matth.xiii),  datis  omnibus  suis,  ipse  conformes  illos  faciens  sibi,  hoc  dedit  illis,  ut 
.  in  fundamentis  et  in  portis  margaritae  sint  decoris.  Decor  namque  sive  pulchritudo, 
et  gloria  portarum,  per  quas  ad  illam  civitatem  a  quatuor  mundi  partibus  venientes 
introivimus,  pulchrius  aut  convenientius  quam  nomine  vel  specie  margaritarum  sig- 
nificari  non  potuit.  Nimirum,  sicut  femina  nobilis  pretiosis  praeculta  margaritis, 
solet  ad  oculos  hominum  gloriari,  viro  suo  subornata ;  sic  civitas  ilia  quae  est  Ecclesia, 
talibus  principibus,  tantis  patribus,  tam  gloriosis  apostolis  gloriari  potest,  sponso  suo 
Christo  sic  ornata  ut  sponsa."  Comment,  in  Apocalypsim,  Migne  P.L.I 69. 1202. 
^  This  brings  to  mind  the  great  figure  of  the  Church  as  the  mystical  body  of 

Christ  of  which  all  the  faithful  are  limbs  or  members,  which  figure,  from  the  time 
of  St.  Paul,  has  been  a  Eucharistic  figure:  "For  we  being  many  are  one  bread 
and  one  bod}';  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one  bread"     I  Cor.x.17. 

Bede  says  in  commenting  on  the  gates  of  the  heavenly  city:  "The  whole  glory 
of  the  head  is  reflected  in  the  body.  And  just  as  the  true  Light  which  lighteth  every 
man  (Joan.i),  granted  His  saints  to  be  the  light  of  the  world,  so  He  Who  is  the  One 
Pearl  Which  the  wise  merchant  sold  all  that  he  had  and  bought  (Matth.xiii),  com- 
pares His  own  to  the  splendor  of  pearls."  "Omnis  gloria  capitis  refertur  ad  corpus. 
Et  sicut  lux  vera  quae  illuminat  omnem  hominem  (Joan.i),  Sanctis  donavit  lumen 
esse  mundi,  sic  et  ipse,  cum  sit  margarita  singularis,  quam  negotiator  sapiens  ven- 
ditis  omnibus  emat  (Matth.xiii),  suos  nihilominus  margaritarum  fulgori  comparat," 
Explanatio  Apocalypsis  Lib.III.Cap.xxi  Migne  P.L.93.293. 

Quite  apart  from  literary  origins,  as  we  are  likely  to  see  in  the  beautifully 
rounded  limbs  of  children  the  likeness  to  pearls,  in  sheen  and  in  color  (H),  in  purity 
and  in  perfectness  of  form,  so  we  understand  the  beauty  of  St.  Andrew's  address 
to  the  Cross:  "Hail  Cross  dedicated  to  the  body  of  Christ,  and  ornamented  by  His 
limbs  as  with  pearls!"  "Salve  crux  quae  in  corpore  Christi  dedicata  es:  et  ex  mem- 
bris  ejus  tanquam  margaritis  ornata"  (In  Lectio  vi,  in  secundo  Nocturno,  as  Anti- 
phon  there  and  Ad  Matutinas,  In  Natali  Sancti  Andreae,  in  the  Sarum  Breviary). 
And  the  interpretation  of  the  pearl  of  great  price  by  Wyclif  brings  with  it  a  fuller 
confirmation  of  the  mystical  symbol:  "pe  secounde  parable  of  Crist  is  said  in  J?es 
wordis;  Eft  soone  ]>e  rewme  of  hevene  is  liche  to  a  man  marchaund  pat  sou]te  good 
margaritees,  and  whanne  he  hadde  foundun  oon  presciouse  Tnargarite,  he  wente  out 

(11)   cf.  Dante,  Paradiso  ili.l5: 

"debili  si  che  perla  in  bianco  fronte 

non  vien  men  tosto  alle  nostre  pupllle.  " 
"So  faint  tliat  a  pearl  on  a  white  brow 

Comes  no  less  quickly  to  our  pupils." 

Pace  Twenty-four 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

and  selde  al  \>at  he  hadde,  and  hou^te  J?t*  margarite.  pe  rewrae  of  hevene  is  clepid 
here  )?e  Chirche,  waundringe  after  Crist;  for  Crist,  heed  of  al  )?e  Chirche,  bigan  ]?e 
newe  Testament;  and  fadirs  of  )?is  lawe,  wi)?  vertues  of  Crist,  mai  be  clepid  here 
}pv  kyngdoni  of  hevene.  pis  man  ^at  chaffare)?  here  is  clepid  ech  man  )?at  comij?  to 
Goddis  lawe  and  lyvej?  ]?erafter.  pes  margaritees  ben  treuj^is  foundun  in  Goddis 
law:  pis  o  margarite  is  Goddis  word,  treu)?e  of  alle  treu)?is,  oure  Lord  Jesus  Crist. 
and  )?e  same  tresour  )7at  was  bifore  foundun.  Clerkis  seien  )7at  margarites  ben 
prescious  stones  foundun  in  )?e  see  wi)?inne  shellefishe;  and  ]?ei  ben  on  two  maneres: 
sura  hoolid  and  sum  hool.  And  margaritis  ben  a  cordial  medecine,  and  )?ei  maken 
faire  mennis  atire,  and  conforten  mcnnis  hertis.  pis  oo  margarite  is  oure  Lord 
Jesus  Crist,  foundun  in  tribulacioun  of  see  of  Yis  world;  and  o)?er  margarites  ben 
lymes  of  Crist,  foundun  in  shellis  of  smale  se  fishes,  pe  manheed  of  Crist  is  a 
margarite  )?at  worshipi)?  his  Chirche  and  conforti}?  mennis  hertis.  pe  shelle  of  )?is 
fishe  is  bodi  of  Crist.  J?at  was  stable  and  stef  in  all  his  temptaciouns.  And  he  wij? 
his  martiris  wern  hoolid  margarites.  And  so  Crist,  bi  his  two  kyndis,  is  o  margarite, 
holid  and  unholid ;  for  Cristis  Godheed  mijte  not  be  hoolid;  but  his  manheed  was 
hoolid,  as  shewen  his  fyve  woundis.  And  to  bigge  )?is  margarite  many  seintis  han 
traveiled  in  \>e  state  of  grace  and  bicamen  ful  herty;  for  )?is  medecine  of  margarites 
ha}?  confortid  alle  martiris,  and  made  hem  herty  for  to  die  for  )?e  love  of  treuj^e. 
Confessouris  and  virgynes  ben  maad  faire  bi  )?is  margarite,  and  ech  state  of  men 
)>at  shal  be  saaf  in  hevene.  Alle  J>es  men  sellen  her  goodis,  as  we  have  seid  bifore, 
and  bien  J?is  margarite  wi)7outen  any  chaunging.  For,  as  Ysay  sei)?,  sich  men  bien, 
wi}?outen  silver  and  wi)7outen  chaunging,  boj?  wyn  and  mylk.  For  men  J?at  chaffaren 
yi'i\>  God  and  bien  hem  hevene  lesen  not  J?at  )?ei  Jyven,  but  hav  alle  J?ingis  betere  )7at 
l>ei  hadden  bifore,  and  bi  a  stabler  titel."  Sermon  LXXXIV,  Arnold,  Select  English 
Works  of  John  Wyclif,  1,286-287. 

To  summarize:     The  Host  is  round,  white,  flawless,  like  unto  the  Lamb  without  jS. 
spot.     The  consecrated  Host  is  the  great  Pearl  of  the  sacred  body  of  the  Lamb.  ^     ^^ 
The  holy  mystery  of  the  Eucharist  is  the  precious  Pearl  which  the  merchant  sought,  / 

for  Christ  is  there  present.  Who  is  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price.     We  may  become        / 
pearls    by    destroying   carnal    desires   and    giving  ourselves    in   exchange   therefore. 
Thus  we  may  become  a  living  member  of  the  great  Pearl  Who  is  Christ. 

The  Poem  of  the  Pearl 

In  order  to  compare  more  closely  this  interpretation  of  the  Mystical  Pearl 
with  the  idea  as  set  forth  in  The  Pearl,  it  will  be  well  to  review  the  contents 
of  the  poem:     (12) 

I 

A  pearl  fit  for  a  prince,  peerless,  perfect — alas!  I  lost  her  in  an  arbor;  it  fell 
through  the  grass  to  the  ground. 

Oftentimes  I  go  there  where  it  sprang  from  me,  to  mourn.  But  a  sweet  song 
of  comfort  came  to  me  while  I  was  there. 


(12)  I  have  made  the  synopsis  to  conform  to  the  stanza  division. 

Page  Twenty-flvc 


THE     PFJARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

Good  must  die  for  good  to  be  born,  as  wheat  must  die  before  you  can  have 
grain.     What  riches  must  spring  from  the  death  of  the  pearl! 

On  a  certain  high  festival  in  August,  I  went  to  that  spot  which  was  over- 
shadowed by  flowers  which  gave  forth  a  fair  perfume. 

I  gave  myself  up  to  despair  even  though  reason  forbade ;  I  bemoaned  my  pearl 
even  though  the  nature  of  Christ  made  known  to  me  comfort.     At  last  I  fell  asleep. 

II 

My  body  was  left  there — my  soul  went  to  an  unknown  place  of  beauty.  The 
hills  and  trees  were  beautiful,  the  gravel  was  precious  pearl  that  outshone  the  sun. 

The  beauty  made  me  forget  my  grief,  the  odors  satisfied  me  as  food,  the  birds 
sang  more  sweetly  than  gitern  or  sytol. 

The  farther  I  went  in  the  woodland  the  more  inexhaustible  were  its  charms. 
At  length  I  reached  a  river. 

The  banks  were  beryl,  the  sound  of  its  ripple  was  sweet,  the  stones  on  the 
bottom  were  precious,  all  gleaming. 

Ill 

The  beauty  of  it  all  filled  me  with  joy  and  abated  my  sorrow.  The  farther 
I  followed  the  stream  the  happier  I  was,  just  as  when  fortune  entices  a  man  for 
joy  or  for  sorrow,  he  is  eager  to  push  after  her. 

I  was  happier  than  mortal  heart  can  tell.  I  thought  the  land  on  the  other 
side  was  Paradise,  but  the  water  was  too  deep  to  cross. 

My  longing  became  stronger  to  cross  to  the  other  side.  I  was  looking  in  vain 
for  a  ford  when  a  new  adventure  befell  me. 

I  saw  a  crystal  cliflf,  and  at  the  foot  of  it,  a  maiden  dressed  in  white  whom  I 
had  seen  before. 

The  longer  I  scanned  her,  the  gladder  T  was.  I  wanted  to  call  her,  but  diffi- 
dence held  me  back.     She  raised  her  head  and  my  heart  was  stung  by  the  sight. 

IV 

I  was  frightened  and  stood  still.  I  feared  she  would  vanish  before  I  spoke 
to  her.     Before  I  could  speak  she  rose  up — a  precious  maid  clad  in  pearls. 

There  might  one  see  a  royal  array  of  pearls  when  she  as  fresh  as  a  fleur  de  lis 
came  down  the  bank,  all  glistening  white,  her  garments  heavily  trimmed  with  pearls. 

She  wore  a  crown  of  pearls.  Her  face  was  white  as  ivory.  Her  hair  was 
like  shorn  gold. 

Her  garments  were  heavily  embroidered  with  pearls,  but  on  her  breast  there 
hung  a  single  pearl  so  precious  and  spotless  that  no  man  might  set  a  price  on  it. 

She  came  toward  me — she  was  nearer  than  aunt  or  niece — she  took  off  her 
crown  and  graciously  saluted  me. 

V 

"O  Pearl,"  I  cried,  "clad  in  pearls,  are  you  my  pearl  that  I  have  mourned? 
I  have  been  wasted  by  grief,  and  you  have  been  in  a  pleasant  place  in  Paradise. 

Pace  Twentjr-tlx 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

What  Wyrd  has  snatched  away  my  jewel  and  put  me  in  such  grief?      Since  we  were 
parted  I  have  been  but  a  joyless  jeweler." 

That  jewel  then  resumed  her  crown  arid  said  soberly:  "Sir,  you  have  erred 
in  saying  that  your  pearl  is  lost  when  it  is  enclosed  in  so  comely  a  coffer  as  this 
garden.     Here  were  a  treasure-chest  indeed  for  you  if  you  were  a  gentle  jeweler, 

"But  if  you  lose  your  joy  for  a  gem  that  was  dear  to  you,  you  are  mad,  and 
busy  yourself  with  a  trifle.  What  you  have  lost  was  a  perishable  flower,  which 
through  the  nature  of  the  chest  in  which  it  was  enclosed  has  become  a  precious  pearl. 
You  call  your  Wyrd  a  thief  that  made  you  something  out  of  nothing — you  blame 
the  cure  of  your  ills." 

A  jewel  she  was  then  to  me  and  her  words  were  jewels.  "Surely,  my  dear,  I 
beg  pardon.  I  thought  my  pearl  lost.  Now  I  have  found  it  I  shall  keep  it  and 
thank  God  Who  has  brought  me  this  joy.  If  I  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
I  should  be  happy." 

"Jeweler,"  said  this  gem,  "why  do  you  jest?  You  have  spoken  three  foolish 
things  at  once.  You  say  you  think  I  am  in  this  land  because  you  see  me  with 
your  eyes ;  you  say  you  shall  live  here  with  me ;  you  say  you  will  pass  this  water. 
No  joyful  jeweler  may  do  this. 

VI 

"That  jeweler  is  little  to  praise  who  loves  what  he  sees  with  his  eyes.  He 
is  much  to  blame  and  discourteous  who  believes  that  our  Lord  would  lie  Whom 
promised  to  raise  you  alive  though  your  flesh  die.  If  you  believe  only  what  you 
see,  you  set  His  words  awry.  That  is  the  sin  of  Pride  that  each  good  man  shuns, 
to  believe  that  alone  is  true  which  his  own  judgment  deems  so. 

"You  say  you  shall  come  across  here.  You  should  first  ask  leave,  and  it  might 
not  be  granted  you.  First  you  must  leave  your  corpse  in  the  earth,  for  it  was 
forfeit  in  Paradise.      Each  one  must  die  before  coming  here." 

Then  I  said:  "If  you  condemn  me  again  to  grief,  I  shall  pine  away.  I  care 
for  nothing  if  I  cannot  have  my  pearl. 

VII 

"You  bring  me  nothing  but  grief."  Then  she  said,  "Because  of  grieving  for 
a  lesser  loss,  many  a  man  loses  something  greater.  You  ought  to  manage  better 
and  love  God  and  weal  and  woe.  No  matter  how  you  rage  you  must  abide  His 
judgment. 

"Cease  your  proud  mourning  and  pray  for  His  pity.  He  can  make  your  grief 
less,  for  all  lies  in  His  power  alone." 

Then  I  said  unto  her,  "May  the  Lord  not  become  angry  because  I  in  my 
grief  have  said  wild  things — I  throw  myself  on  His  mercy.  Do  not  rebuke  me, 
for  you  first  brought  me  sorrow. 

"We  were  so  close  to  each  other,  God  forbid  that  we  should  now  quarrel. 
Though  you  speak  so  courteously,  I  am  only  a  botcher.  My  bliss  is  founded  on 
Christ's  mercy,  and  Mary  and  John. 

"Now  since  I  am  with  you,  tell  me  how  you  lead  your  life,  for  I  am  happy 
to  see  you  raised  to  such  eminence." 

Page  Twenty-BCTen 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

"Now  you  are  better  fitted  to  be  in  this  place/'  she  said,  "for  Pride  is  hated 
here.  Those  who  come  into  the  presence  of  my  Lord  the  Lamb  must  be  devout 
in  utter  meekness. 

"I  was  young  when  I  came  here,  yet  the  Lamb  wedded  me  and  gave  me  part 
in  all  His  heritage.     I  am  wholly  His." 

VIII 

"Sweetheart,"  I  said,  "are  you  truly  queen  of  heaven?    What  then  about  Mary?" 

"Courteous  Queen,"  she  said  and  knelt,  "although  many  come  here,  she,  the 
Empress,  being  Queen  of  Courtesy,  will  refuse  none  welcome. 

"The  Court  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Living  God  has  such  property  that  each 
one  who  comes  there  may  be  queen  or  king  without  depriving  any  other.  All  are 
glad  of  each  new  arrival.     Mary  is  Empress  of  all,  at  which  all  are  delighted. 

"As  St.  Paul  says,  'We  are  all  members  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ,'  so  there 
can  be  no  quarrel  amongst  us." 

"I  believe  that  there  is  great  courtesy  and  charity  amongst  you,  but  let  me 
ask — since  you  who  were  so  young  get  such  a  high  place,  what  would  he  who  lived 
in  penance  all  his  life  get  that  was  better? 

IX 

"You  lived  not  two  years — knew  neither  Pater  nor  Credo — and  yet  made  queen 
on  the  first  day!  I  do  not  believe  that  God  would  be  so  unjust.  Countess  in 
heaven  were  good  enough,  but  queen " 

"The  mercy  of  God  is  not  limited,"  she  said;  "witness  the  parable  of  the 
vineyard. 

X 

"I  have  more  joy  and  bliss  of  His  free  gift  than  any  man  might  gain  by 
demanding  his  right.  I  labored  only  from  evening  time.  Others  sweat  all  day 
and  have  received  nothing — may  not  for  a  long  time." 

Then  I  said,  "That  sounds  unreasonable.  In  the  Psalter  it  says:  'Thou 
payest  each  his  due.'     This  does  not  look  like  it." 

XI 

"In  heaven,"  she  said,  "there  is  no  question  of  more  or  less,  for  He  gives  His 
grace  so  lavishly. 

"But  you  blame  me  for  getting  more  than  I  earned.  Who  upon  earth  has 
been  so  holy  that  he  has  not  at  some  time  forfeited  his  heavenly  reward?  And 
the  older  he  gets  the  oftener  it  happens.  Then  God's  mercy  and  grace  must 
steer  him. 

"But  children  as  soon  as  they  are  born  and  baptized  come  into  the  vineyard. 
They  have  enough  grace  of  their  innocence.  Why  should  they  then  not  be  rewarded 
accordingly  ? 

Page  Twenty-eight 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

It  is  well  known  how  we  were  created  for  bliss,  but  through  Adam's  fall  we 
forfeited  it.  But  there  came  a  cure  for  it:  rich  blood  and  winsome  water  from 
a  rood  gave  us  the  grace  of  God. 

"From  that  well  came  blood  to  buy  us  from  hell  and  water  of  baptism  to  wash 
away  our  sins.     Now  bliss  is  brought  close  to  us.      (13) 

XII 

"The  man  who  sins  may  buy  grace  with  sorrow  and  remorse,  but  it  is  only 
justice  that  the  innocent  be  saved. 

"Two  shall  be  saved — the  righteous  and  the  innocent. 

"The  righteous  attain  to  the  kingdom  by  great  carefulness,  but  the  innocent 
are  safe. 

"When  you  come  to  the  court  where  all  cases  are  tried,  may  you  plead  the 
passion  of  our  Lord  as  your  right. 

"Remember  how  Jesus  called  the  little  ones  to  Him  and  said  that  of  such  was 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

XIII 

"Jesus  said  that  none  might  enter  heaven  unless  he  came  as  a  little  child — 
then  it  shall  be  opened  unto  him.  This  is  the  bliss  that  the  jeweler  sold  all  to 
buy — the  priceless  pearl. 

"This  pearl  is  like  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  my  breast 
where  my  I>ord  the  Lamb  placed  it  in  token  of  peace.  I  advise  you  to  purchase 
your  precious  pearl." 

"O  precious  pearl,  who  gave  you  your  peerless  figure,  your  lovely  garments, 
your  color?      What  sort  of  meaning  has  the  pearl  without  price.''" 

"My  Lamb  without  spot  chose  me  as  His  bride;  gave  me  might  and  beauty, 
and  decked   me  in  pearls."  • 

"Who  may  that  Lamb  be  who  overlooked  so  many  beautiful  ladies  and  chose 
you  alone  as  bride?" 

(13)  "Now  is  fer  nojt  in  ^e  worlde  rounde 

I^ytwene  vus  &  blysse  both  Jjat  he  wythdroj, 
&  ^at  is  restored  in  sely  stounde."      vv. 657-9. 
Dr.  Osgood  renders  this:     "Now  is  tliere  no  obstacle  between  us  and  bliss  that  he  has  not 
withdrawn,  and  no  means  of  approach  that  he  has  not  restored."     The  Pearl    .    .    .    rendered 
into  prose.     Princeton,  N.J.,  1907,  p.78. 

Miss  Jewett  reads  it  substantially  the  same: 

"Now  is  there  nothing  in  earth's  great  round, 
To  bar  from  the  bliss  wherewith  God  did  endow 

Mankind, — restored  to  us  safe  and  sound."      The  Pearl.  .A  Modern  Ver- 
sion.    By  Sophie  Jewett,  N.  Y.     Thos.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  1908. 

Neilson  &  Webster  translate  it:  "Now  is  there  naught  in  the  round  world  between  us 
and  bliss  that  he  has  not  withdrawn;  and  in  happy  hour  is  bliss  restored.  NOTE:  The 
MS.,  t»at,  subject  of  "is  restored,"  is  obscure.  The  Chief  British  Poets  of  the  14th  and  15th 
Centuries.     Houghton  Mifflin. 

Literally,  of  course,  it  reads:  "Now  is  there  nought  in  the  round  world  between  us 
and  bliss  but  that  He  withdrew,  and  that  is  restored  in  a  blessed  moment."  If  I  am  right 
in  my  interpretation,  this  refers  to  the  sacring  of  the  Mass,  wherein  He  revisits  His  people 

Page  Twenty-nine 


THE     PEARL.:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

XIV 

"I  am  without  spot,  it  is  true,  but  not  peerless,  for  there  are  144,000  of  us 
as  you  may  read  in  the  Apocalypse,  of  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem. 

"In  Jerusalem  Isaiah  prophesied  of  my  Lamb. 

"In  Jerusalem  He  died  for  us. 

"St.  John  baptized  Him  in  Jordan  as  a  Lamb  Who  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world. 

"Thrice    was    my    Love   called   Lamb   in  Jerusalem  —  the  third  time   in  the 

Apocalypse. 

XV 

"This  Jerusalem  Lamb  is  spotless  and  it  befits  Him  to  have  only  a  spotless 
bride.     Numbers  of  them  come  each  day  —  the  more  the  merrier. 

"None  who  bear  this  pearl  could  ever  bring  s.orrow  to  us.  Our  hope  is  in 
the  One  Death  although  we  are  conscious  of  our  bodies  being  clay.  The  Lamb 
gladdens  us  at  each  Mass. 

"If  you  don't  believe  me,  read  the  Apocalypse. 

"Only  those  of  His  following  can  sing  the  song  of  the  Lamb  —  those  who 
are  like  Him  in  face  and  hue.  That  spotless  meiny  may  never  move  from  their 
spotless  master." 

"I  am  but  muck,  yet  I  should  like  to  ask  you  a  question. 

XVI 

"You  speak  of  Jerusalem.  Is  it  not  in  Judea?  Surely  you  should  live  in  a 
lovelier  place ! 

"Those  beautiful  hosts  must  fill  a  great  city,  but  I  see  no  dwelling  hereabout. 
Pray  direct  me  to  that  merry  castle." 

"By  that  castle  you  mean  Judea,"  that  rare  spice  said  to  me.  "But  to  the 
New  Jerusalem  of  which  the  Apostle  spoke  in  the  Apocalypse  the  spotless  Lamb 
has  taken  His  flock. 

"Both  are  called  Jerusalem,  i.e..  City  of  God,  or  Site  of  Peace.  The  one 
was  the  scene  of  the  Lamb's  Passion,  the  other  is  full  of  peace.  This  is  the  city 
that  we  press  forward  to  after  death,  where  to  the  pure,  bliss  and  glory  ever 
increase." 

Then  said  I,  "Bring  me  to  that  dwelling."  "God  will  not  allow  that  but  I 
have  permission  from  the  Lamb  that  you  may  have  a  glimpse  of  it,  yet  you  cannot 
come  within  until  you  are  spotless. 

In  the  flesh.     "Now  is  there  nothing  that  separates  us  from   bliss  but   that  He  withdrew 
Himself,  and  In  a  blissful  moment  He  restores  Himself  to  us." 

An  examination  of  the  whole  stanza  will  strengthen  this  interpretation:  the  sym- 
bolism of  the  blood  and  water  Is  explained — the  blood  redeemed  us  and  the  water  is 
baptism.  But  when  Baptism  is  mentioned  as  explaining  the  Water  from  the  Wounded 
Side,  the  mind  used  to  sacramental  language  at  once  expects  the  usual  interpretation  of 
the  Blood  as  the  Eucharist;  in  such  cases  the  linking  of  the  two  sacraments  "generally 
necessary  to  salvation"  being  not  only  natural  but  almost  inevitable. 

PaC«  'Hiirtr 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

XVII 

"If  you  want  to  see,  come  up  to  this  hill  on  your  side  of  the  river  and  I  will 
follow  on  my  side."  Then  I  climbed  the  hill  and  saw  a  beautiful  sight  as  St. 
John  saw  it  in  the  Apocalypse: 

A  city  of  precious  gems  with  twelve  foundations:  Jasper,  Sapphire,  Chalce- 
dony, Emerald,  Sardonyx,  Ruby,  Chrysolite,  Beryl,  Topaz,  Jacynth,  Amethyst, 
walls  of  Jasper,  streets  of  gold,  twelve  furlongs  long,  high  and  broad. 

XVIII 

Twelve  gates,  each  a  pearl,  with  names  of  the  twelve  tribes.  They  needed 
sun  nor  doon. 

For  the  Lamb  was  their  lantern,  through  Him  the  city  was  bright.  The  Throne 
I  saw,  and  the  bright  river  underneath. 

No  church,  chapel  nor  temple  was  there.  The  Almighty  was  the  minister 
to  reproduce  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb.      Therein  come  none  who  are  not  guiltless. 

Moon,  stars,  and  even  sun  are  too  poor  to  use  there.  Trees  bear  the  twelve 
fruits  of  life  twelve  times  in  the  year. 

I  was  as  a  dazed  quail  with  the  beauty  of  it  all.  It  was  more  than  flesh 
might  bear. 

XIX 

Suddenly  there  came  a  great  procession  of  maidens,  as  my  blissful,  dressed 
in  pearls,  and  on  each  breast  was  the  blissful  pearl. 

The  Lamb  preceded  them  —  His  garments  were  like  pearls.  They  went 
toward  the  Throne. 

Saints  and  angels  fell  at  His  feet  in  worship  of  that  Jewel. 

He  was  white  and  fair,  but  in  His  side  was  a  wide  wound  from  which  blood 
flowed.     Alas!  who  did  that  deed? 

The  Lamb  showed  no  pain  nor  did  His  following  show  any  concern.  I  looked 
among  them  and  saw  my  little  queen,  who  I  had  thought  stood  by  my  side.  For 
love  of  her  I  started  to  wade  across. 

XX 

I  started  to  cast  myself  into  the  stream  but  I  had  to  change  my  purpose,  for 
it  was  not  to  my  Prince's  pleasure. 

As  I  started,  I  awoke  in  the  arbor.  I  was  frightened  and  said  to  myself, 
sighing,  "Now  all  be  to  that  Prince's  pleasure." 

I  did  not  like  to  be  shut  out  from  that  vision,  but  I  said,  "O  Pearl,  if  it  be 
true  that  you  are  so  honored,  then  I  am  content  in  this  dungeon  of  sorrow,  since 
you  have  pleased  the  Prince." 

If  I  had  always  directed  myself  to  that  Prince's  pleasure  and  been  content 
with  what  He  revealed  to  me,  I  had  been  drawn  to  more  of  His  mysteries.  Lord, 
they  are  mad  who  strive  against  Thee  or  proffer  Thee  anything  contrary  to 
Thy  pleasure. 

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THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

To  please  that  Prince  is  very  easy  for  the  good  Christian.  (14)  This  I  learned 
on  this  mound,  lying  for  grief  of  my  Pearl,  that  in  the  form  of  bread  and  wine 
which  the  priest  shows  us  every  day.  He  granted  us  to  be  His  own  servants  and 
precious  pearls  unto  His  pleasure.     (15) 

(14)  "To  pay  \>e  Prince  oJ»er  sete  hym  sajte 

Hit  Is  ful  e]>e  to  ^e  god  Krystyln; 
For  I  haf  founden  hym,  bo}>e  day  &  najte, 
A  God,  a  Lorde,  a  Frende  ful  fyin.  etc."     vv.1201-4. 
A  curiously  parallel  passage  is  found  in  the  poem  called  "With  God  of  Love  and   Pes. 
5e  Trete,"  printed  in  "Twenty-six  Political  and  Other  Poems,"  E.E.T.S.  O.S.  124.34: 
"Now  sumwhat  y  haue  jow  sayd 

What  is  salue  to  joure  sore,   (i.e.,  Confession) 
To  saujten  wi})  god,  holde  jow  payed, 

And  arraye  jow  wel  J^erfore 
To  resceyue  god,  joure  soules  store. 

His  body  in  forme  of  bred  o  whete, 
And  kepe  hym:  so  je  nede  no  more 

Eft  of  pes  wiTp  hym  to  trete."     vv.177-184. 

(15)  "Ouer  }>is  hyiil  J'is  lote  I  lazte, 

For  pyty  of  my  perle  enclyin, 
&  syj>en  to  God  I  hit  bytajte, 
In  Krystej  dere  blessyng  &  myn, 
pat,  in  Jje  forme  of  bred  &  wyn, 
pe  preste  vus  schewej  vch  a  daye, 
He  gef  vus  to  be  his  homly  hyne, 
Ande  precious  perlej  vnto  his  pay.     Amen.     Amen." 

vv.1202-1212. 
Dr.  Osgood  reads:  "Such  as  I  have  now  told  was  the  fortune  that  befell  me  at  this 
mound,  bowed  in  grief  for  my  Pearl;  and  straight  way  I  gave  her  up  unto  God  in  Christ's 
dear  blessing  and  mine  own — he  whom  in  the  form  of  bread  and  wine  the  priest  showeth 
unto  us  each  day.  And  now  may  Christ  our  Prince  grant  that  we  become  servants  of  his 
own  household,  and  precious  pearls  to  delight  him  ever.  Amen." 
Miss  Jewett:  "Upon  this  mound  my  soul  hath  sight 

Where  I  for  piteous  sorrow  pine; 
My  Pearl  to  God  I  pledge  and  plight, 

With  Christ's  dear  blessing  and  with  mine, — 
His,  Who,   in  form  of  bread  and  wine, 
The  priest  doth  daily  show  us  still. 
His  servants  may  we  be,  or  shine. 
Pure  pearls,  according  to  his  will." 
Neilson  and  Webster:     "On  this  mound  this  fortune  I  experienced,  bowed  down  with 
pity  for  my   pearl;   and  afterwards   I  betook   it   to   God,   in   the   dear  joy   and   memory   of 
Christ,   whom,   in  the   form  of   bread  and   wine,   the   priest  shows  us   every   day.     May   he 
grant  us  to  be  his  lowly  servants,  and  precious  pearls  unto  his  pleasure." 

In  the  preceding  stanza  the  poet  tells  us  that  if  he  had  done  his  duty  as  a  Christian 
he  should  have  found  out  long  ago  and  without  the  agency  of  the  Pearl  more  of  God's 
secrets  which  He  tells  those  who  seek  His  Presence: 

"To  Jjat  Pryncej  paye  hade  I  ay  bente, 
&  jerned  no  more  Yen  watj  me  geuen, 
&  halden  me  fer  in  trwe  entent, 
As  J»e  perle  me  prayed  f'at  wat)  so  J?ryuen, 
As  helder  drawen  to  Goddej  present, 

To  mo  of  his  mysterys  I  hade  ben  dryuen."  vv.1189-1194. 
The  last  stanza  is  an  explanation  of  this  statement.  Rearranging  the  punctuation  of  the 
passage  as  given  in  Prof.  Osgood's  edition,  by  substituting  a  comma  for  the  period  at  the 
close  of  V.1210,  the  meaning  would  be  something  like  this:  "Upon  this  mound  this  lot  I 
got,  bowed  down  with  grief  for  my  Pearl,  and  then  I  entrusted  it  (l>ls  lote)  to  God  in 
Christ's  dear  blessing  and  memory,  that  in  the  form  of  bread  and  wine  which  the  priest 
shows  us  every  day.  He  gave  us  the  way  to  become  servants  of  His  household  and  precious 
pearls  unto  His  pleasure."     This  is  the  mystery  to  which  the  Pearl  drove  him. 

Page  Thirty-two 


I 


» 


THE     PEARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

Reduced  to  simpler  terms,  the  argument  is:  A  man  has  lost  by  death  a  little 
child  who  was  the  most  precious  part  of  his  life.  He  is  desperate  with  grief.  On 
a  high  feast  day  he  goes  mourning  to  the  place  where  his  Pearl  is  buried : 

"To  J?at  spot  J?at  I  in  speche  expoun 

I  entred,  in-  J^at  erber  grene, 

In  Augoste  in  a  hyj  seysoun, 

Quen  corne  is  coruen  wyth  croke3  kene."    vv. 37-40, 
and  there  he  receives  a  message  of  comfort  from  her.      She  is  well  and  happy  and 
chides  him  for  doubting  it: 

"  'Sir,  3e  haf  your  tale  mysetente, 

To  say  your  perle  is  al  aways, 

pat  is  in  cofer  so  comly  clente, 

As  in  ]7is  gardyn  gracios  gaye, 

Hereinne  to  lenge  for  euer  &  play, 

per  mys  nee  mornyng  com  neuer  nere; 

Her  were  a  forser  for  pe  in  faye, 

If  )?ou  were  a  gentyl  jueler 

'But,  jueler  gente,  if  ]?ou  schal  lose 

py  ioy  for  a  gemme  J^at  pe  watj  lef. 

Me  )?ynk  J?e  put  in  a  mad  purpose, 

&  busyej  pe  aboute  a  raysoun  bref ; 

For  )7at  )?ou  lestej  watj  bot  a  rose 

pat  flowred  &  fayled  as  kynde  hyt  gef; 

Now  J^urj  kynde  of  pe  kyste  pat  hyt  con  close 

To  a  perle  of  prys  hit  is  put  in  pref. 

&  ]?ou  hatj  called  )?y  wyrde  a  pei, 

pat  o3t  of  nojt  hatj  mad  pe  cler, 

pou  blamej  pe  bote  of  J7y  meschef, 

pou  art  no  kynde  jueler.'  "  vv.257-276. 
She  warns  him  against  excessive  grief: 

"  'Thow  demej  nojt  bot  doel-dystresse,' 

penne  sayde  J?at  wyjt;  'why  dotj  J?ou  so.^ 

For  dyne  of  doel  of  lurej  lesse 

Ofte  mony  mon  forgos  pe  mo.'  "  vv.337-340. 
She  has  her  place  in  the  mystical  body  of  Christ: 

"  'Al  arn  we  membrej  of  Jesu  Kryst ; 

As  heued  &  arme  &  legg  &  naule 

Temen  to  hys  body  ful  trwe  &  tyste, 

Ryjt  so  is  vch  a  Krysten  sawle 

A  longande  lym  to  pe  Mayster  of  myste."  vv.458-462. 
the  token  whereof  is  a  precious  pearl  upon  her  breast: 

"Bot  a  wonder  perle  wythouten  wemme 

In  myddej  hyr  breste  watj  sette  so  sure."  vv.22 1-222. 

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THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

He  may  also  have  a  place  there  and   wear  his  pearl  as  the  sign  of  the  perfect 
fellowship  and  communion  of  saints, 

"For  hit  is  wemlej,  clene,  &  clere, 

&  endelej  rounde,  &  blyj^e  of  mode, 

&  commune  to  alle  ]?at  ryjtwys  were."  vv.737-739. 
"I  rede  pe  forsake  \>e  worlde  wode, 

&  porchase  ]?y  perle  maskelles."  vv. 743-4. 
but  only  if  he  conducts  himself  humbly 

"For  meke  arn  alle  ]?at  wonej  hym  nere, 

&  when  in  hys  place  ]?ou  schal  apere, 

Be  dep  denote  in  hoi  mekenesse."  vv. 404-406. 
and  takes  advantage  of  the  means  at  his  hand 

"Now  is  per  nojt  in  pe  worlde  rounde 

Bytwene  vus  &  blysse  bot  ]?at  he  wythdroj, 

&  ]?at  is  restored  in  sely  stounde."  vv.657-9. 
She  gains  for  him  the  privilege  of  beholding  for  a  moment  the  supreme  act  of  worship 
in  heaven 

"pou  may  not  enter  wythinne  hys  tor, 

Bot  of  pe  Lombe  I  haue  pe  aquylde 

For  a  syjt  peroi  J^urj  gret  fauor,"  vv.966-8. 
so  that  he  knows  of  a  surety  that  she  is  there  present  where  Christ  is  present  (16) 
"I  loked  among  his  meyny  schene. 

How  )?ay  wyth  lyf  wern  laste  &  lade; 

pen  saj  I  ]?er  my  lyttel  quene, 

pat  I  wende  had  standen  by  me  in  sclade. 

Lorde,  much  of  mir)?e  watj  I?at  ho  made, 

Among  her  fere^  )?at  watj  so  quyt!"  vv.l  145-1 150. 
He  wakes  and  laments  the  fact  that  he  has  not  been  more  attentive  to  seeking 
God's  presence  so  that  he  might  learn  more  of  His  mysteries : 
"To  J?at  Pryncej  paye  hade  I  ay  bente, 

&  jerned  no  more  J^en  watj  me  geuen, 

&  halden  me  ]7er  in  trwe  entent, 

As  pe  perle  me  prayed  J?at  watj  so  }?ryuen. 

As  helder  drawen  to  Goddej  present. 

To  mo  of  his  mysterys  I  hade  ben  dryuen."  vv.l  189-1 194. 
At  last  he  decides  that  it  is  very  simple  for  a  good  Christian  to  gain  his  part  in 
the  great  Pearl,  through  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar. 

Stripped  to  the  quick,  the  poem  offers  the  teaching  which  has  been  given 
above  (pp.  10-11)  regarding  the  Communion  of  Saints:  that  the  mourner  should 
cast  away  his  grief  in  the  joy  of  regaining  his  beloved  in  the  mystical  body  of 


(16)   Yet  the  Pearl  speaks  to  him  from  earth  as  well  as  from  heaven: 
"  'Sir,  fele  here  porchasej  &  fonges  pray, 

Bot  supplantore)  none  wythinne  Jjys  place.'  "     vv.439-440. 
where  "here"  is  without  doubt  this  earth,  and  "t'ys  place"   is  heaven — speaks   to  him   of 
course  from  the  meeting  place  of  the  two  realms — the  Altar. 

Page  Thirty-four 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

Christ,  participation  in  which  body   is   to  be   gained    in    the    Sacrament    of    the 
Eucharist.     (17) 

The  Eucharistic  language  and  teaching  of  the  poem  is  given  peculiar  point  and 
beauty  by  the  mechanical  framework  of  the  poem  —  each  stanza  is  bound  to  its 
neighbor  by  refrain  and  word  link,  and  each  canto  to  the  next  in  like  manner ;  then 
when  this  flawlessness  and  polish  is  achieved,  the  last  verse  of  the  poem  is  knit  to  I 
the  first,  shaping  the  whole  into  the  form  of  a  huge  pearl.  Within  a  large  pearl,  then 
the  whole  action  of  the  poem  takes  place.      (18")  j 

Conclusion 

A  very  significant  aspect  of  the  poem  is  its  concentration  on  the  three  persons — 
the  Lamb,  the  Pearl,  and  the  bereaved  father.  This  simplicity  is  the  more  \ 
remarkable  if  there  is  a  close  relationship,  as  Prof.  Schofield  has  pointed  out,  between 
The  Pearl  and  the  fourteenth  Eclogue  of  Boccaccio.  Boccaccio  lies  on  the  ground 
sleepless  and  sad,  mourning  for  his  little  daughter  Olympia,  who  is  dead.  While 
he  is  so  employed,  Olympia  appears  to  him,  gloriously  transformed.  She  tells  him 
that  she  owes  her  transformation  to  the  Virgin,  with  whom  she  has  gone  to  dwell. 
She  sings  a  song  in  honor  of  the  Saviour  and  of  the  Virgin,  and  tells  of  the  joys 
of  heaven. 

Since  the  parallel  is  so  close,  one  would  naturally  expect  to  hear  in  The  Pearl 
a  great  deal  about  the  Virgin  as  the  merciful  mother  who  would  take  care  of  the 
little  maiden,  and  of  the  saints  and  angels,  especially  St.  Michael,  the  conductor 
of  the  spirits  of  the  dead ;  but  aside  from  two  passages,  the  Virgin  is  not  mentioned, 
and  the  only  saints  are  St.  John  Baptist  who  called  Jesus  the  Lamb  of  God 
(v.818),  and  St.  John  the  Divine  as  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse;  once  the  poet 
mentions  St.  John  in  company  with  Christ  and  Mary  as  being  the  three  whose 
mercy  he  looked  unto  to  save  him  (v. 383),  but  this  most  likely  was  a  memory  of 
the  great  Calvary  group  which  hung  in  the  church.  That  this  great  silence  in 
a  realm  which  was  such  a  favorite  theme  for  the  poets  did  not  arise  from  any 
"Lollard"  dislike  of  "Mariolatry  and  saint  worship"  is  made  very  clear  by  the 
actions  of  the  maiden  when  the  name  of  the  Mother  of  Christ  is  mentioned: 


(17)   As  I  write  this,  a  poem  comes  to  my  notice  which  expresses  the  same  thought: 
"Lord,  where  Thou  art  our  happy  dead  must  be; 
Unplerced  as  yet  the  Sacramental  Mist, 
But  we  are  nearest  them  when  nearest  Thee 

In  solemn  Eucharist."  (Memoir  of  Arthur  Stanton,  p.275.) 
(1&)  A  very  curious  parallel  to  this  artistic  device,  conceived  more  than  a  century 
later,  is  Raphael's  Disputa,  in  the  Camera  della  Segnatura  In  the  Vatican.  Here  we  get  a 
gllmpe  Into  a  perfect  sphere,  the  central  point  of  which  is  the  Blessed  Sacrament  exposed 
In  a  monstrance.  Below,  on  earth,  men  are  vigorously  championing  the  dogma,  great  tomes 
of  commentary  lying  at  their  feet.  Some  of  the  greatest  champions  of  the  Church  are 
there  gathered,  SS.  Jerome,  Augustine,  Gregory,  Ambrose,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Savonarola, 
and  the  poet  Dante,  the  painter  Pra  Angelico,  and  Bramante,  the  architect  of  the  basilica 
of  St.  Peter,  the  unfinished  walls  of  which  can  be  seen  in  the  background.  But  above 
all  this  turmoil,  surrounded  by  saints,  the  Trinity  sheds  down  its  reflection  and  full  glory 
upon  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

Pace  TUrtr-ftre 


THE     PEARL:     AN      INTERPRETATION 

"  'Cortayse  Quen/  )?enne  sayde  J?at  gaye, 
Knelande  to  grounde,  folde  vp  hyr  face, 
'Makelej  Moder  &  myryest  May, 
Blessed  Bygynner  of  vch  a  grace !'  "  vv. 433-6. 

The  true  reason   is  that  such  attentions  would  rob  the  poem  of  its  fine  simplicity, 
and  directness  and  would  obscure  its  teaching  —  not  that  the  Company  of  Heaven 
is  considered  de  trop,  for  it  is  present  worshipping  the  Lamb  (vv.l  118-1 124). 

The  structure  of  the  poem  conforms  roughly  to  that  of  the  Mass — not,  it  is 
true,  academically,  but  faintly  and  interrupted  by  dialogue  to  clear  up  knotty 
problems  as  they  occur  (19).  We  have  the  Pro- Anaphora,  penitential  and  sor- 
rowful in  character;  the  Canon  of  the  Mass;  the  threefold  Agnus  Dei,  and  the 
Adoration. 

I  have  an  idea  that  the  whole  poem  arose  from  gazing  at  the  Elevated  Host 
in  the  hands  of  the  Priest  (see  frontispiece)  —  "round,  white,  like  a  pearl,  the 
meeting  place  of  heaven  and  earth  —  a  pearl,  Margaret"  —  something  like  this 
would,  I  think,  be  the  train  of  thought  which  would  bring  the  germ  of  the  poem  to 
him.  I  believe  that  the  poet  conceives  the  poem  as  taking  place  within  the  church 
where  the  Pearl  might  be  buried,  quite  regardless  of  the  convention  of  the  arbor 
and  the  grass  (20).  He  goes  to  mourn  her  where  he  has  lost  her  in  the  ground. 
He  hears  a  song: 

"Set  l^ojt  me  neuer  so  swete  a  sange 
As  stylle  stounde  let  to  me  stele."  vv.l 9-20. 
Might  this  not  be  the  chanting  of  the  choir  on  this  "hyj  seysoun"?     He  smells  odors 
I     and  comments: 

"pat  spot  of  spycej  mot  nedej  sprede, 
per  such  rychej  to  rot  is  runne."  vv.25-6. 
Cannot  this  be  the  incense .''      The  enumeration  of  the  flowers  may  be  only  the  touch 
added  as  a  quasi-pastoral  device.      As  we  have  noticed  before,  the  only  two  saints 
he  mentions  are  SS.  Mary  and  John.      He  had  only  to  raise  his  eyes  to  the  rood- 
beam  and  he  would  see  them  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.      Be  this  as  it  may, 

(19)  Such  as  the  long  passage  containing  the  Parable  of  the  Vineyard  in  which  she 
vindicates  her  right  to  be  a  queen  of  heaven.  Since  she  was  only  two  years  old  and  had 
consequently  never  received  the  Holy  Communion,  which  was  necessary  to  salvation,  how 
could  she  occupy  this  place?  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  answers  this:  "As  Augustine  says  in 
his  Epistle  to  Boniface:  No  one  should  entertain  the  slightest  doubt,  that  then  every  one 
of  the  faithful  becomes  a  partaker  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  when  in  Baptism  he 
is  made  a  member  of  Clirist's  body;  nor  is  he  deprived  of  his  share  in  that  body  and 
chalice  even  though  he  depart  from  this  world  in  the  unity  of  Christ's  body  before  he  eats 
that  bread  and  drinks  of  that  chalice."      Summa,  p.238. 

(20)  This  convention  is  not  uniformly  consistent  in  the  poem.  It  was  a  pearl  that 
rolled  away  from  him  through  tlie  grass  into  the  ground  (v. 10);  again  it  was  no  pearl  at 
all  but  a  rose  that  bloomed  and  faded  naturally  (vv. 269-70);  it  was  a  lovely  flower  (v.962); 
a  special  spice  (vv.235,938) ;  a  seemly  seed   (v. 34).     Also  the  names  given  to  this  spot  are 

"^"^  not  uniform:  huyle,  v.41),  flajt  (v.57),  and  balke  (v.62);  whether  "balke"  means  mound," 
or  as  is  possible  from  the  large  percentage  of  Scandinavian  words  in  the  poem,  a  division 
of  some  kind,  as  a  wall  or  a  floor,  the  figure  is  at  once  broken  and  it  is  used  consciously 
of  a  grave,  ^n  interesting  question  then  arises  as  to  whether  a  man  of  the  undoubted 
evidence  of  culture  and  refinement  which  the  poet  possesses  would  conceive  of  his  daughter 
being  buried  in  the  churchyard  or  in  the  church  itself. 

Page  Thlrty-Bix 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

the  intrusion  of  pastoral  elements  into  the  poem  need  be  no  more  fundamental  than 
the  intrusion  of  the  Pagan  elements  in  Boccaccio's  Eclogue. 

To  recapitulate:  Within  the  frame  of  a  great  pearl,  the  poet  sees  his  lost 
Pearl  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  a  very  member  incorporate  in  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ;  and  she  teaches  him  that  through  the  grace  of  God  as  granted  in 
the  Eucharist  it  is  given  him  to  become  a  member  of  this  body,  thus  to  be  forever 
united  with  his  Pearl  as  parts  of  the  great  pearl,  the  mystical  body  of  Christ. 


^ 


^ 


A)''"' 


r 


Pagre  Thirty-seven 


THE     PEARL:     AN     INTERPRETATION 

Appendix  A 

Note  on  the  "Hyj  Seysoun" 
"In  Augoste  in  a  hy^  seysonn."  v.89. 

"  'Hyj  seysoun'  is  a  high  feast,  and  the  highest  feast  in  August  and  the  one 
most  likely  thus  to  be  designated,  is  that  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  on  the 
fifteenth.  The  appropriateness  of  the  date  of  this  feast  to  the  theme  of  the 
poem  is  obvious,"  Osgood,  Introd.  xvi. 

"...  doubtless,  about  the  day  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,"  Schofield, 
Publ.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  1909,  p.648. 

It  seems  to  me  impossible  that  this  should  be  the  feast  meant.  I  have  noted 
above  (p.35)  that  the  Virgin  gets  very  little  mention  in  the  poem,  which  fact  would 
make  the  idea  frankly  incredible  that  the  vision  took  place  in  "Lady  Day  in 
Harvest."  The  author  of  the  Cursor  Mundi  devotes  837  verses  to  the  Feast  of 
the  Assumption.      Not  even  the  remotest  reference  to  it  is  found  in  The  Pearl. 

It  seems  that  conforming  with  the  content  of  the  poem,  the  most  appropriate 
feast  in  August  would  be  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus,  on  August  7.  There 
is  in  this  festival  the  concentration  on  the  merits  of  Christ  which  is  so  remarkable 
in  the  poem.  All  in  all,  it  answers  very  well,  if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  this 
feast  was  not  commonly  observed  until  quite  a  century  later.  It  would  be  interesting 
if  it  were  found  that  this  feast  had  its  origin  in  England.  We  read  that  "Ro. 
Hallum,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  offered  an  indulgence  for  singing  Mass  of  the  Melli- 
fluous Name  of  Jesus,  from  His  Castle  at  Sherborne,  as  early  as  7th  August, 
1411,"  (Wordsworth  and  Littlehales,  p.l78,Note),  also  that  "the  festival  of  the 
Most  Sweet  Name  of  Jesus,  which  was  already  in  use  in  England,  was  specially 
sanctioned  and  endowed  with  privileges  by  Alexander  VI  (1493-1503). Note. 
Thereupon  was  added  to  the  first  and  second  lessons  of  Mattins  an  account  of  this 
transaction.  See  Sar.  Brev.  of  1531  (Cambridge  reprint,  III.621).  This  change 
was  not  yet  made  in  the  Breviary  of  1510."  (Procter  and  Frere,  p.32.)  This 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  festival  amongst  the  Franciscans,  two  of  whom  stand 
out  for  unusually  great  devotion  to  the  Holy  Name  —  St.  Bernardine  (who  wrote 
the  Office  and  the  Mass  for  the  day),  and  John  Capistran.  "In  1530  the  feast 
was  granted  to  the  Franciscans  for  February  25.  Later  the  Franciscans,  Carmelites 
and  Augustinians  observed  it  on  the  14th  of  January,  the  Dominicans  on  the  15th 
of  January.  In  the  British  Isles  it  was  continued  on  the  7th  of  August,  at  Liege 
on  the  3 1st  of  January,  at  Compostella  and  Cambrai  on  the  8th  of  January.  About 
1648  the  Carthusians  obtained  it  for  the  Second  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany, 
which  usage  gradually  spread,  until  in  1721  it  was  extended  to  the  whole  of  the 
Roman  Church  with  the  exception  of  the  Franciscans,  who  still  observe  the  day 
on  the  14th  of  January."      (Catholic  Encyclopedia.) 

This  looks  very  much  as  if  the  feast  had  its  origin  in  England,  since  it  is 
heard  of  there  more  than  a  century  earlier  than  on  the  Continent.  Did  it  originate 
among  the  English  Franciscans,  and  may  it  have  been  observed  by  them  some  time 

Page  niirt7-«i|;lit 


THE      PEARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

before  it  was  indulgenced  by  tbe  Bishop  of  Salisbury  ?  The  answer  to  thesf 
questions  might  conceivably  throw  some  light  on  the  authorship  of  The  Pearl.  It 
may  be  that  eventually  the  British  Society  of  Franciscan  Studies  may  publish 
material  which  will  solve  these  problems. 

The  same  holds  true  of  the  Feast  of  the  Transfiguration,  on  the  sixth  of 
August,  which  might  hold  our  attention  by  its  claims  of  being  the  "hyj  seysoun" ; 
Procter  and  Frere  say  concerning  this  festival:  "...  the  two  new  general 
festivals  of  the  Visitation  and  the  Transfiguration  were  adopted  in  England  in  1480, 
shortly  after  their  promulgation  by  Rome.  Note:  This  (the  Transfiguration)  was 
in  some  places  a  much  older  festival  especially  among  the  Benedictines."  (p. 329)  (21) 
Yet  the  Transfiguration  is  not  as  fitting  a  holiday  as  a  setting  for  the  poem  of 
The  Pearl  as  is  Holy  Name  Day. 

We  will  probably  do  best  if  we  look  at  the  poem  itself  for  a  clue  to  the  day  in 
the  author's  mind : 

"To  }7at  spot  )?at  I  in  speche  expoun 
I  entred,  in  )7at  erber  grene, 
In  Augoste  in  a  hyj  seysoun, 

Quen  corne  is  coruen  wyth  crokej  kene."  vv.37-40. 
This  may  be  a  reference  to  the  Feast  of  the  First-fruits  —  Lammas,  or  Loaf  Mass, 
the  Feast  of  St.  Peter's  Chains.  This  was  an  ancient  Englisli  feast,  tlie  connection 
with  St.  Peter  being  frequently  lost  sight  of  in  the  other  aspects  of  it.  There 
surely  is  a  mystical  symbolism  in  the  offering  of  the  loaf  of  the  first  fruits,  and  the 
popular  name  of  the  feast  as  it  was  known  for  centuries,  Lammas,  meant,  quite 
unetymologically,  it  is  true,  the  Feast  of  the  Lamb  (as  it  is  given  in  Promptorium 
Parvulorum:  "lammasse,  festum  agnorum,  uel  Festum  ad  uincula  S.  Petri").  All 
this  with  the  fact  that  the  day  was  also  called  the  "Gule  of  August"  where 
Gule=yule,  feast  (Plummer  &  Earle  ii.l28),  shows  that  this  feast  was  of  sufficient 
importance  to  warrant  its  being  called  "a  hyj  seysoun  in  Augoste." 


Appendix  B     '- 


St.  Hilary  of  Poictiers,  His  Daughter  and  the  Pearl 

The  following  letter  which  is  printed  in  The  Cowley  Evangelist,  edited  by  the 
Society  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Oxford,  March,  1895,  is  worth  notice.  Here 
the  situation  is  quite  reversed :  the  father  out  of  love  fpr  the  little  daughter  who  is 
alive,  tries  to  obtain  for  her  the  pearl.      I  quote  the  article  entire: 

The  following  letter  of  Saint  Hilary  of  Poictiers  to  his  daughter  Abra  was 
written  about  the  end  of  A.D.  358,  his  daughter  being  about  twelve  years  old.     He 


(21)  A  careful  investigation  of  local  calendars  and  national  variations  would  be  a  very- 
acceptable  work.  Why  is  there  so  great  a  variation  in  the  dates  assigned  the  Feast  of 
the  Holy  Name?  Why  did  the  Sarum  Calendar  in  the  14th  century  not  commemorate  the 
Conversion  of  St.  Paul  on  January  25? 

.  Page  Thlrty-nino 


THE     P  K  A  K  L :      AN      INTERPRETATION 

was  married,  probably,  before  his  conversion;  and  he  was  now  in  exile  for  the  faith. 
The  Benedictine  editor  says  there  is  nothing  in  the  letter  unworthy  of  a  pious 
(i.e.,  paternal,  I  suppose)  and  prudent  father,  who  calls  away  one  who  is  at  once  a 
dearest  daughter  and  a  very  little  girl  (puellam  tenerrimam)  from  the  vain  pomps 
and  delights  of  the  world  by  words  suited  to  her  apprehension: — 

Hilary  to  his  dearest  daughter  Abra  sends  health  in  the  Lord. 

1.  I  received  your  letter  in  which  you  say  you  miss  me;  and  I  am  sure  you  do. 
For  I  feel  how  much  we  must  wish  for  the  presence  of  those  we  love.  And  because 
I  know  my  absence  is  hard  for  you,  I  am  anxious  you  should  not  think  me  unkind 
to  you  in  being  so  long  away ;  and  so  I  want  to  explain  to  you  why  I  went,  and 
why  I  put  off  coming  back,  so  that  you  may  understand  that  it  is  not  in  unkindness 
but  for  your  good  that  I  make  you  do  without  me.  For  you,  my  daughter,  are  the 
only  one  I  have,  and  my  heart  is  all  one  with  yours ;  and  so  I  wish  you  to  be,  all 
your  life,  the  prettiest  girl  and  the  happiest  in  every  way  (sanissimam). 

Well,  then,  the  news  came  to  me  that  there  is  a  certain  Prince  (juvenis).  Who 
possesses  a  pearl  and  a  robe  of  priceless  value;  and  that  whoever  can  obtain  them 
from  Him  will  become  ricli  and  strong  beyond  human  riches  and  strength.  When 
I  heard  this,  I  set  off  to  go  to  Him;  and  after  many  long  and  painful  journeys  I 
found  Him;  and  as  soon  as  I  saw  Him  I  fell  at  His  feet.  For  that  young  Prince 
is  of  such  fair  presence  (adest  tam  puleher  Juvenis),  that  none  maj^  dare  to  stand 
up  before  His  face.  And  when  He  saw  me  thus  fallen  before  Him,  He  bade  some 
ask  what  I  desired,  and  what  was  my  petition ;  and  I  answered  that  I  had  heard 
of  His  pearl  and  robe  .  .  .  and  that  if  He  should  deign  to  grant  me-  such  a  gift, 
I  had  a  little  daughter  whom  I  tenderly  loved,  and  that  it  was  for  her  I  would 
beg  that  robe  and  pearl.  And  saying  all  this  still  lying  before  His  face,  I  wept 
a  great  deal,  and  begged  Him  night  and  day  with  groans  that  he  would  deign  to 
hear  my  prayer.  And  after  that,  because  that  Prince  is  good,  so  that  there  is  none 
beside  better  than  He,  He  said  to  me:  "Do  you  know  this  Robe  and  Pearl  which 
you  ask  me  with  tears  to  give  to  your  daughter?"  And  I  answered,  "My  Lord.  I 
have  learned  by  report  of  them,  and  by  faith  I  have  believed;  and  I  know  they 
are  the  best  of  all,  and  it  is  true  health  and  joy  to  wear  them."  And  with  that,  He 
gave  orders  to  His  servants  to  show  me  them;  and  so  presently  it  was  done.  And 
first  I  saw  the  robe:  I  saw  —  Oh,  my  daughter!  I  cannot  say  what  I  saw.  No 
silk  but  would  seem  coarse  sailcloth  by  its  side,  so  fine  it  was.  Snow  would  be 
black  beside  its  whiteness,  and  gold  quite  dull  against  its  splendour.  For  it  was  of 
many  different  colours,  and  nothing  in  all  the  world  could  in  any  way  be  compared 
to  it.  And  then  I  saw  the  pearl:  and  at  the  sight  of  it  I  fell  down  straight.  For 
mine  eyes  could  not  bear  its  lovely  colour,  and  the  fairness  of  sky  and  light  and 
sea  and  land  cannot  be  compared  to  the  beauty  of  it.  And  as  I  lay  on  my  face,  one 
of  those  who  stood  by  said  to  me:  "I  see  you  are  an  affectionate,  kind  father,  and 
that  you  want  this  robe  and  pearl  for  your  little  girl;  but  that  you  may  want  it 
still  more,  let  me  show  you  their  wonderful  qualities.  The  robe  is  never  hurt  by 
moths,  nor  worn  by  use,  nor  soiled,  nor  torn,  nor  lost;  but  it  always  stays  just  as 

Page  Forty 


THE      PEARL:      AN      INTERPRETATION 

it  is.  And  this  is  the  virtue  of  the  pearl,  that  whoever  wears  it  is  never  ill,  never 
gets  old  or  dies.  In  fact,  no  harm  whatever  can  come  to  the  wearer."  And  when 
I  heard  this,  dear  child,  I  began  to  faint  with  longing  for  these  gifts,  and  I  cried 
again,  and  begged  the  Prince  still  harder  to  give  them  to  me,  saying  "Holy  Lord, 
have  pity  on  my  prayer,  my  care,  my  life.  If  Thou  dost  not  give  me  what  I  beg, 
I  shall  be  miserable,  and  I  shall  lose  my  daughter  while  she  is  still  alive.  I  will 
go  on  pilgrimage  for  this  robe  and  pearl.     Thou  knowest  that  I  speak  the  truth." 

And  then  He  told  me  to  rise,  and  said:  "Your  prayers  and  tears  have  moved 
me,  and  you  have  done  well  in  believing.  And  because  you  have  offered  to  spend 
your  life  for  them,  I  cannot  refuse  the  gifts:  but  you  must  know  My  will.  The 
robe  I  give  is  such  that  no  one  can  have  it  who  wishes  to  wear  other  robes  of  silk 
and  fair  colours  and  gold ;  but  I  give  it  only  to  those  who  are  content  with  plain 
stuff  clothes.  And  my  pearl  is  such  that  it  must  be  worn  alone;  other  pearls  are 
from  the  earth  or  sea ;  mine,  as  you  see,  is  heavenly,  and  it  is  not  fit  that  it  should 
be  where  any  others  are.  For  my  good  things  do  not  sort  well  with  those  of  men, 
for  he  who  wears  my  pearl  is  well  forever,  no  fever,  wounds  or  age  or  death  may 
touch  him.  But  I  will  give  you  my  robe  and  pearl,  and  you  shall  take  them  to 
your  little  girl.  But  first  you  ought  to  know  what  is  her  will.  If  she  will  make 
herself  fit  for  my  robe  and  pearl,  that  is  by  not  caring  for  silken  golden-broidered 
dresses,  and  if  she  hates  all  other  pearls,  then  I  will  give  you  what  you  ask." 

And  so  I  got  up,  full  of  joy;  and  now  I  have  learned  this  secret,  have  written 
this  letter  to  you,  praying  you  to  do  what  the  Prince  bids.  Therefore  when  they 
bring  you  any  dress  of  silk,  or  rarely  trimmed,  and  guarded  with  gold,  you  must 
say  to  him  who  offers  it:  "I  am  waiting  for  another  robe,  for  which  my  father  is 
making  a  long  pilgrimage,  and  if  I  accept  this  I  cannot  have  that  one.  The  wool 
of  my  sheep  is  enough  for  me,  and  the  colour  which  nature  gave,  and  a  plain 
uncostly  texture.  But  I  wish  for  that  robe  which  is  said  never  to  be  lost  or 
worn  or  torn." 

And  if  they  offer  you  pearls  for  your  neck  or  hands,  say:  "Do  not  let  me  be 
cumbered  with  these  useless  common  pearls  (sordidae)  ;  I  am  waiting  for  that  one 
which  is  most  precious,  loveliest,  and  best  to  wear  (utilissima).  I  believe  my 
father's  word,  because  he  believes  that  One  who  promised  this  pearl,  and  he  told 
me  he  would  die  to  get  that  pearl  I  wait  for  and  covet,  which  will  give  me  health 
and  everlasting  joy." 

Be  sure,  then,  to  help  me  in  my  care  for  you,  and  always  read  this  letter,  and 
keep  yourself  for  this  robe  and  pearl ;  and  without  asking  anyone  about  it,  write 
back  to  me  in  the  first  letter  you  can  make  by  yourself,  and  tell  me  whether  you 
will  keep  yourself  for  this  robe  and  pearl,  so  that  I  may  know  what  answer  I  may 
make  to  the  Prince.  And  if  that  is  your  desire,  then  I  shall  be  able  to  think  with 
joy  of  coming  back  to  you.  And  when  you  have  written  to  me,  I  will  tell  you 
who  the  Prince  is,  and  what  His  dignity,  and  what  His  will  is,  and  His  promise, 
and  His  power.  Meanwhile  I  send  you  a  hymn  for  morning  and  evening,  to 
remember  me  by.  And  if,  because  you  are  only  a  little  girl,  you  do  not  quite  under- 
stand  the   letter   and   the   hymn,  ask   mother  to  explain,   who  wishes   by   her   good 

Pagre  Forty  onf 


THE     PEARL:      AN     INTERPRETATION 

nurture  to  make  you  a  true  child  of  God  (quae  optat  ut  te  moribus  suis  genuerit  Deo). 
For  God  is  already  your  Father,  and  my  prayer  is,  dearest  daughter,  that  He  may 
keep  you  both  in  this  life  and  forever.      Migne. Patrol. Latin.  X.549  ff. 

The  translator  says  modestly  "The  translation  is  only  rough,  and  leaves  out 
many  beautiful  details."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  translation  is  peculiarly  adequate, 
and  the  parts  omitted  arc  fragmentary  phrases  which  have  no  special  bearing  on  the 
allegory.     The  hymn  referred  to  is  "Lucis  largitor  splendide." 


Vagv  Forty-two 


THE      PEARL:      AX      INTERPRETATION 


Bibliography 

Arnold,  Thomas.  Select  English  Works  of  John  Wyclif.  Clarendon  Press.  Ox- 
ford, 1899. 

Baldwin,  Charles  Sears.  An  Introduction  to  English  Medieval  Literature.  Long- 
man's, Green,  and  Company.      New  York,  1914. 

Breviarium  ad  Usum  insignis  ecclesise  Sarum.      Cambridge,  1879-1886. 

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